•20 
DALCO DISPAR. 
found it to inhabit also in the interior, in the Camdebo, 
and on the shores of the Swart-kop, and Sunday rivers. 
It is very common in Congo, and numerous also in 
Barbary, Egypt, and far-distant Syria. The researches 
of Ruppel, in the interior of North-Eastern Africa, 
already so productive, and from which so much more 
may he expected, have furnished specimens of this 
species, of which we owe two to the kindness of Dr 
Creitzscbmaer, the learned and zealous Director of the 
Museum of the free city of Frankfort, — an institution 
which lias risen up with such wonderful rapidity. We 
are also informed, that it is an inhabitant of India, 
which is rendered probable by a specimen from Java 
in my collection. It is found in New Holland, being 
numerous in the autumn of New South Wales, where 
it is migratory, and preys chiefly on field mice, but is 
.seldom known to attack birds. It is there observed at 
t imes to hover in the air, as if stationary and motionless. 
Though occasionally met with on the African coast of 
the Mediterranean, not a solitary individual has ever 
been known to visit the opposite shores of Italy, Spain, 
or Turkey, nor has it been met with in any other part 
of Europe. 
When at rest, it is generally seen perched on high 
bushes, where the pure white of the lower parts of its 
body renders it very conspicuous at a distance. It 
utters a sharp piercing cry, which is often repeated, 
especially when on the wing, though Mr Peale assures 
us, that our individual uttered no cry. Like its closely 
related species, it does not attack small birds, except 
for the purpose of driving them from its favourite food, 
which consists of hemipterous insects, chiefly of the 
Gryllus and Mantis genera, as well as other insects, 
and some reptiles. In the stomach of our specimen, 
however, Mr Peale found, besides the usual food, 
fragments of an Arvicola hispidus, and one or two 
feathers apparently of a sparrow : but it is not a 
cowardly bird, as might be suspected from its affinity 
to the kites, and from its insignificant prey, since it 
successfully attacks crows, shrikes, and even the more 
