153 
brown; tail with very indistinct darker 
bars ; below dull rufous brown, brighter on 
abdomen, with blackish shaft-lines ; cere 
orange, bill black, feet yellow. 
{248a. Milvus migrans egyptius (Gmel.), S.N.,i., N. & E. Africa, 
p. 261 (1788). [Egyft.] Palestine, 
Yellow-billed Kite. Arabia ; cas. in 
S.E. Europe. 
Size nearly the same; wing ¢ 430, 2 450- 
460, tail 2 290 mm.; tail more rufous 
brown, with 7 or 8 more distinct blackish 
bands ; head and hind neck browner ; ear- 
coverts darker ; below rather more rufous, 
especially on abdomen, thighs and under 
wing- and tail-coverts ; bill, as well as cere 
and feet, bright yellow. Immature birds 
have bill blackish. 
{248b. Milvus migrans arabicus subsp. nov. [g S. Arabia ; 
Lahy, S. Arabia, Aug. 25th, 1899, W. Dod- Erythrza (?) 
son coll., type in Tring Mus. ] Brit. Somali- 
Arabian Kite. land (?)? 
Smaller; wing ¢ (Arabia) 400-418, tail 
254 mm. ; paler than M. m. egyptius and 
more resembling M. m. govinda ; head and 
hind neck more rufescent as in latter form ; 
tail with about 8 obsolete darker bands ; 
below with broad tawny fulvous centres to 
the feathers, black shaft-lines and darker 
brownish edges; bill generally slate to 
blackish, seldom yellow; cere and feet 
yellow. Immature birds have stripes be- 
low as pale and conspicuous as in M. m. 
govinda. 
1 Mr. W. Sclater (MS.), following Dr. Hartert, thinks the birds from these 
districts are intermediate between M. m. egyptius and M.m. parasitus. I, however, 
regard the Arabian birds at least as clearly intermediate between M. m. @gyptius 
and M. m. govinda. The S. Arabian kites form a distinct colony of very small birds, 
but whether the birds from Erythrza and Brit. Somaliland can be fairly linked with 
them is a matter for consideration. 
