Our Birds of Prey. 133 
It will often be seen perching on the low bush, tall 
palms and other trees, in the fields, swamps and other 
places, though just as frequently on shortstumpsandsticks, 
close to the ground, or on the ground itself. Very often 
it will be noticed, hovering like a wind-hover, close to 
the ground, over the grassy and bushy areas in search 
of the small grass snakes and lizards. The little so- 
called horsewhip or three-lined grass snake, Dromicus 
/meatus, seems to be its most frequent vi£tim. Its cry 
is loud, hoarse and shrill, and at times is very frequently 
repeated and can be heard from a great distance. 
The following seven species belong to the group of 
the kites, which are recognisable by their long and 
much curved festooned bills, their long and narrow 
pointed wings, and their generally forked tails. The 
commonest of these is the sociable shell-eating kite 
(Rostrhamus sociabilisj, known to the old huntsmen in 
the Abary district by the common name of " cricketty 
hawk," the term "cricketty" being applied to all the 
apple-snails (Ampullaria) found along the creeks or in 
the savannah swamps. The beak of this genus of hawks 
is quite distinctive, the upper mandible being very long 
thin and curved, and altogether most admirably 
adapted to their work of picking out from the curved 
whorls of the shells of the apple-snails, the soft bodies 
of the molluscs. Their feet are also very slender for 
the size of the bird, and their claws are very thin, long, 
curved and sharp. 
There are two species described of the genus Ros- 
trhamus which are separated from each other by very 
slight and apparently insufficient characters. In the one, 
R. sociabiltSy the characters, summarized from Sharpe's 
