Indeed, with the single exception of the Kestrel {I'rnnun cuius alaudanus), it is the commonest rapacious 
bird in the Eastern Atlas. Like M. regalis it selects for the position of its nest the roots of a shruh 
growing out of a rock, and huilds a structure composed principally of sticks, with a lining of rags, wool, 
&c., while on the surrounding branches are fantastically hung old pieces of burnouses of various colours. 
The Black Kite plays the part of scavenger in the districts where it abounds ; and over every French 
settlement and Arab village several may be seen flying boldly around, on the look-out for any fragment of 
carrion that may be lying about. Its fearless and familiar manner and beautiful flight render this bird 
decidedly one of the most interesting in the country. The eggs are laid from the middle to the end of 
April, and are more distinctly and deeply marked than those of the other s])ecies. A series of the eggs 
of the two from the same district present a marked contrast. This bird is known to the Arabs by the name 
‘ Hadayia soda ’ — the ‘ Black Hadayia ’ ”. 
Of the Black Kite in Palestine, Tristram remarks (in ‘ The Ibis ’ for 1865, p. 256) : — “ No sooner has the 
Red Kite begun to retire northwards than the Black Kite, never once seen in winter, returns in immense 
numbers from the south, and about the beginning of March scatters itself over the whole country, preferring 
especially the neighbourhood of villages, where it is a welcome and unmolested guest, and certainly does 
not appear to attack the poultry, among which it may often he seen feeding on garbage. It is not strictly 
gregarious, though very sociable ; and the slaughter of a sheep near the tents will soon attract a large party 
of Kites, which swoop down, regardless of man and guns, and enjoy a noisy scramble for the refuse, chasing 
each other in a laughable fashion, and sometimes enabling the wily Raven to steal off with the coveted morsel 
during their contention. It is the butt of all the smaller scavengers ; and it is evidently most unpopular 
with the Crows and Daws, and even with the Rollers, who enjoy the amusement of teasing it in their tumbling 
flight, which is a manoeuvre most perplexing to the Kite. The nest, generally in a tree, often in a glen, is 
a grotesque, untidy structure, decorated with all sorts of rags and rubbish, apparently to attract observation. 
The eggs are invariably two, and, as a rule, are more richly coloured than those of the Mtlms regalis.” 
“ This species, which does not remain [in Southern Spain] throughout the winter,” says Mr. Howard 
Saunders (in ‘ The Ibis ’ for 1871), “ breeds a full fortnight later than 31. regalis ; and the first week in May 
a patch of wood of an acre or two in extent will certainly yield upwards of a score of eggs, it being a sociable 
bird. Even when nesting somewhat apart, it has always a colony of Spanish Sparrows to keep it company. 
The usual number of eggs is two.” 
This association of the Spanish Sparrows with the Black Kite is also mentioned by Lord Lilford, who 
says (in ‘ The Ibis ’ for 1866) ; — “ The Black Kite’s nest contained three eggs ; and in its foundation were 
three nests of the Spanish Sparrow. In almost every nest of the two species of Kite we find in Spain there 
were one or more nests of this Sparrow', besides, in most instances, a large colony in the immediate vicinity.” 
Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, in their ‘List of the Birds of Turkey,’ published in ‘The Ibis ’ for 1870, 
state that the Black Kite is “ extremely common on some parts of the Danube, where it breeds on the 
islands, which are covered with a dense thicket of willows and a few poplars. In these trees it begins to 
build in April, and lays about the first week in May — in a very small nest, which, at first sight, would not 
seem large enough for the eggs of a Crow. It is also found in the interior of the country, and in the 
large towns, where it acts as a scavenger.” 
Respecting the Milms migrans in South Africa, Dr. Exton wrote to Mr. Layard : — “ This Kite is said by 
the Matabili to be ‘ the king’s bird,’ and is in consequence much respected by them. A chief’s son 
examining my specimen said, ‘ We never kill that bird.’ 
“ It is remarkably bold and fearless, dashing down at your very feet for a stray scrap of flesh, or attempting 
to carry off meat hung up to dry in the native fashion. It does not seem very choice in its food. The 
stomachs of those I examined contained locusts and lizards ; and I have seen family parties dining, after 
the manner of Vultures, off the putrid carcass of an ox. They breed about the time the locust-larvae become 
developed, the young birds taking wing when the ‘ hoppers ’ are becoming strong on the ground. They 
then congregate in flocks 5 and I have counted between eighty and ninety hovering over an army of infant 
locusts — and have seen them in still greater numbers, some on the ground busily devouring the ‘ hoppers,’ 
others perched on the neiglibouring trees gorged with a full repast.” — 3is, 1869, p. 362. 
The figure is about three fourths of the natural size. 
