184 Mr. O. Salving Five Months’ Birds’-nesting 
remarkably devoid of colouring. The Arabs call this bird 
“ Hadayia hamara ’’ or the “ Red Hadayia.” 
13. Milvus ater. (Black Kite.) 
During the breeding-season this species is much more abun¬ 
dant in the Souk Harras district than M. regalis. Indeed, with 
the single exception of the Kestrel (Tinnunculus alaudarius), it 
is the commonest rapacious bird in the Eastern Atlas. I never 
saw M. cegyptiacus. This latter appears to be a more southern 
species; and a very distinct line of demarcation might probably 
be drawn between the territories of these two near allies. Like 
the preceding, it selects for the position of its nest the roots of a 
shrub growing out of a rock, and builds 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. I have also seen nests of the 
Common Kite decorated in this curious fashion. 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 round, on the look-out for any fragment of car¬ 
rion that may be lying about. Its fearless and familiar maimer 
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 species. A series of the eggs of the two 
from the same district, placed side by side, present a marked 
contrast. This bird is known to the Arabs by the name “Ha¬ 
dayia soda ”—the “ Black Hadayia.” 
14. Elanus melanopterus. (Black-shouldered Kite.) 
On two occasions, among the Tamarisk trees, near where the 
Chernora empties itself into the Lake of Djendeli, I saw a bird 
which I had little hesitation in considering as of this species. 
15. Falco barbarus. (Barbary Falcon.) (Plate YI.) 
There cannot be much doubt that the small Peregrine of the 
Atlas, the Falco punicus of General Levaillant, is in truth the 
“ Barbary Falcon ” of the old writers on Hawking, the founda¬ 
tion of the F. barbarus of Linnaeus, Gmelin and Latham, though 
this latter name has generally been supposed to be a synonym 
