Indeed, with the single exception of the Kestrel (Tinnunculus alaudarius), it is the commonest rapacious
’ a So . ei

bird in the Eastern Atlas. Like JZ regalis it selects for the position of its nest the roots of a shrub

growing out of a rock, and builds a structure ccmposed principally o sticks, with a lining a rags, wool,
&c., while on the surrounding branches are fantastically bung 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 species. 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 fon 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 be 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
e 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. [tis 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 Mileus 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 JZ 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 AL/eus 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.’

“Tt 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-larvee become
developed, the young birds taking wing when the ‘hoppers’ are becoming strong on the ground. They
then congregate in flocks; 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 neighbouring trees gorged with a full repast.”—ZJbis, 1869, p. 362.

The figure is about three fourths of the natural size.