Vol. xxxi.l 



-i 



24 



Mr. E. G. B. Meade -Waldo (Treasurer of the " Kite 

 Fund ") made the following statement : — 



" At the commencement of the recent nesting-season we 

 knew of ten pairs of Kites, and nests of nine pairs were 

 located. Of this number three pairs successfully reared 

 broods of three, two, and two young respectively ; three 

 nests were taken, and one, in a new locality, contained addled 

 eggs, probably due to over zeal on the part of the watchers. 

 An eighth nest w r as forsaken, and the ninth was blown out 

 of the tree. The tenth pair, whose nest was not found, 

 hatched and certainly reared one young bird, which was 

 frequently seen. 



" It is remarkable that none of the Kites which lost their 

 eggs laid a second clutch ; and, although they were fre- 

 quently seen carrying nesting-materials, they never settled 

 down. On the whole the past season has been a good one, 

 but it might have been much better; and if next season 

 proves successful, the British race of Kites will no longer be 

 in danger of extinction, and the birds ought soon to spread 

 back into some of their former haunts." 



The Rev. F. C. R. Joukdain exhibited a clutch of three 

 eggs of Balearica regulorum gibbericeps, Reichenow taken 

 by Mr. W. M. Congreve at Njoro, British East Africa, on the 

 16th of September, 1912. Though not represented in the 

 British Museum Collection or in that of Herr Nehrkorn, 

 the eggs had been described by Dr. Reichenow [cf. Vog. 

 Afr. i. p. 266 (1900)]. The eggs exhibited were bluish-white 

 with a glossy surface, and measured 86 x 53*7, 77*7 x 51, and 

 84*3x55*6 mm. respectively. It was noteworthy that two 

 out of the three eggs were infertile. Probably the brown 

 markings described by Mr. E. L. Layard on eggs of B. r. 

 regulorum from Bechuanaland and by Mr. L.M. Seth-Smith 

 on eggs from Uganda were due solely to nest-stains. 



Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker drew attention to the fact that 

 white eggs could not be considered unique in the Crane 

 family, as such eggs were often laid both by Grus ant ig one 



