THE BLACK KITE. 171 



Breeding-habits. — Shows strong tendency to sociable breeding, 

 many nests being placed at no great distance apart. Nest.- — A 

 careless structure, generally built up from a last year's nest and 

 varying greatly in size in consequence, usually in a tree, and freely 

 lined with rags, dung, paper and other rubbish. Eggs. — Usually 

 2, but sometimes 3, and occasionally 1 only ; white with a few spots, 

 blotches and streaks or hair-lines of sepia or red -brown. Average 

 of 100 eggs, 52.9x43.3. Max. : 61x42.3 and 55.7x46.1. Min. : 

 47x39.8 and 53.5x39.5 mm. Breeding-season. — Last week April 

 and first ten days May in south Europe ; rather later in central 

 Europe. Incubation. — Appears to be chiefly by female, male 

 keeping watch not far away. Period not exactly known. Single 

 brooded. 



Food. — Largely fish where rivers or lakes are at hand, but also 

 carrion and garbage, small mammals, such as moles, voles and 

 shrews, chickens and small birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, toads and 

 newts. Insects are also freely taken, such as coleoptera, neuroptera, 

 odonata, and orthoptera, as well as earthworms, Crustacea and 

 mollusca. 



Distribution. — Great Britain. — Two. Adult male Alnwick (North- 

 umberland), May 11, 1866 (Hancock, Ibis, 1867, p. 253). Male 

 Aberdeen, April 16, or 18, 1901 (G. Sim, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 

 1901, p. 133). 



Distribution. — Abroad. — South and central Europe, north-west 

 Africa, and west Asia. European birds are migratory and winter in 

 tropical Africa. Replaced by other forms in tropical and north-east 

 Africa and various parts of Asia. 



[Note. — The Black-winged Kite, Elanus cceruleus (Desfontaines), is said 

 to have been shot in co. Meath about 1845 (Saunders, p. 338, see also 

 Zoologist, 1875, p. 4455.)] 



[Note. — Several specimens of the American Swallow-tailed Kite, 

 Elanoides forficatus (L. ), which inhabits North and South America, have been 

 recorded as taken in Great Britain, but the claims for the admission of this 

 species are in our opinion insufficient (c/. Saunders, p. 338).] 



Genus HALIiEETUS Sav. 



Halleetus Savigny, Descr. Egypte, Zool., Syst. Ois., pp. 68, 85 (1809 — 

 Monotype : H. nisus Sav. = albicilla). 



Enormous birds with very broad wings, in which the primaries 

 are comparatively little longer than secondaries. Bill very large 

 and thick, upper mandible first straight, strongly curved near tip, 

 resembling gigantic bill of Kite. Nostrils free, oval or rounded. 

 3rd to 5th primaries forming tip of wing. Tail short, half as long 

 as wing or less, cuneiform to nearly straight. Tarsus short, about 

 as long as middle toe, one-eighth to one half feathered, rest bare. 

 Nestling with long down, chiefly on head, reminding one of those 

 of Milvus. Eggs as a rule unspotted. Almost cosmopolitan, but 

 absent from S. America. 



