282 



KITE. 



KITE (Milvus ictinus, Savigny.) 



*Falco Milvus, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 126. 12.— Faun. Suec. No. 57.— Gmel. Syst. I. p. 



261 Will. p. 41. t. Q.—Raii, Syn. p. 17. A. 6 — Lath. Ind. Orn. 1. p. 20. 37. 



— Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 1. p. 25. — Milvus vulgaris, Flem. Br. Anim. p. 51. 

 — Milvus ictinus, Vigors, Zool. Journ. 2. p. 340 — Milvus regalis, Briss. 1. p. 



414. 35. t. 33 lb. 8vo. p. 118.— Le Milan Royal, Buff. Ois. 1. p. 197 lb. 



pi. Enl. 422.— Temm. Man. d'Orn. 1. p. 59.— Rother Milan, Bechst. Tasschenb. 



Deut. 1. p. 13 Kite, Br. Zool. 1. No. 53.— lb. fol. t. A. 2.— Arct. Zool. 2. p. 



223. H. — Will. (Angl.) p. 74.— Lewin's Br. Birds, 1. t. 10— Lath. Syn. 1. p. 



61. 43 lb. Supp. p. 17. — Mont. Orn. Diet. — lb. Supp Bewick's Br. Birds, 



1. p. 21 Haye's Br. Birds, 1. t. 5.— Shaw's Zool. 7. p. 103 Pult. Cat. Dor- 

 set, p. 3. — Wale. Syn. 1. t. 10 Don. Br. Birds, 2. t. 47 Falco Austriacus, 



Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 262 Lath. Ind. Orn. 1. t. 39 Austrian Kite, Lath. Syn. 1. 



p. 62. 45. young bird Selby, pi. 5. p. 15. 



Provincial. — Gled. Puttock. Fork-tail Glead. Greedy Glead.* 



This species weighs about two pounds six ounces ; length two feet 

 two inches. The bill yellowish, point dusky ; cere yellow ; irides the 

 same, but of a light colour. Head grey, streaked down the middle of 

 each feather with dusky ; back and wing coverts dusky, edged with 

 ferruginous ; the under parts more or less ferruginous, streaked with 

 dusky, lightest on the breast ; quill feathers dusky black; from the fifth 

 to the tenth dashed with ash-colour, with a few dusky bars, and white 

 at the base and on the inner webs ; the rest are dusky, with obscure 

 bars ; the tail is of a bright ferruginous colour, the two exterior 

 feathers dusky on the outer webs, the first barred on the inner web the 

 same ; the legs are yellow ; claws black. The tail of this bird at once 

 distinguishes it from all others of the genus, being much forked; 

 the exterior feathers are twelve inches in length. 



The female is somewhat larger, measuring in length two feet four 

 inches ; breadth five feet six inches ; in colour much resembling the 

 other sex, but in general not so ferruginous. 



The Kite chiefly inhabits wooded situations, but frequently changes 

 its abode in the winter, though it never wholly quits this country. It 

 makes a nest early in the spring in a fork of some large tree, composed 

 of sticks, and lined with wool, the inner bark of some tree, hair, and 

 other soft materials, such as bits of cloth or rags. The eggs are gene- 

 rally three in number, rarely four ; these are rather larger than those of 

 a hen, of a dirty white, with a few rusty spots at the larger end; 

 sometimes quite plain ; their weight is nearly two ounces. 



This bird, from its great length of wings and tail, is capable of sup- 

 porting itself in the air with very little motion, and for a great con- 

 tinuance, but is slow in flight ; its depredations therefore are confined 

 to such animals as are found on the ground, young rabbits, hares, and 

 game of all kinds, poultry, and young birds incapable of flying. 



