76 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
being found in numbers not only in the rural districts, but in London itself, where, as old 
records of the fifteenth century show, it occurred in such numbers near London Bridge as to 
excite the wonder of foreigners visiting the city. These birds found an abundance of food in 
the garbage of the streets, and also of the Thames itself — “an observation,” remarks Mr. Finn, 
“which throws a lurid light upon the city sanitation.” 
In the days of falconry the kite was royal game, not, however, by legal enactment, but 
by reason of the fact that none but specially trained falcons could secure a prey with such 
wonderful powers of flight. Consequently the price of a falcon which had attained this degree 
of skill was beyond the purse of any but a king. 
Save on the wing, the kite is not a handsome bird, its general colour being of a pale 
reddish brown; but those who have had the good fortune to watch its flight are one and all 
impressed. Cowper admirably expresses the general admiration in the lines: — 
Kites that swim sublime 
In still repeated circles, screaming loud. 
The kites may be distinguished from other members of the tribe by their forked tails. 
Somewhat of a scavenger, as we 
have already hinted, the kite 
feeds also upon such small game 
as moles, frogs, young birds, 
rabbits, snakes, and fish. Its 
partiality for young birds caused 
it to be much dreaded in the 
farmyard in the days when it 
was common ; and when, with 
the introduction of modern and 
improved firearms, game-preserv- 
ing became more strenuously 
prosecuted, its doom was sealed, 
for a ceaseless war was waged 
against it, which ended only with 
its extermination. 
Nearly allied to the Kites, 
the Honey-buzzards next claim 
attention. The name Honey- 
buzzard is a misnomer, for honey 
forms no part of the bird’s food. 
This species exhibits, however, a 
quite remarkable partiality for 
the immature stages of wasps 
and bees, the nests of which it 
tears in pieces with its feet, so 
as to lay bare the coveted 
morsels, devouring them on the 
spot, perfectly regardless of the 
stings of the infuriated insects, ' 
which seem unable to penetrate 
its feathers. When its favourite 
food is not to be had, it will 
feed upon corn, earth-worms, 
beetles, slugs, small birds’ eggs, 
and moles — a diet sufficiently 
Photo bjf Scholastic Photo, Co.] 
[^Parson's Green 
SECRETARY-BIRD 
In full plumage the tail of this bird is much longer 
