Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/274

The birds, however, that arrive in March may be considered as the vanguard, and they come singly, while the main body arrive in April. The arrivals and departures are said to coincide with those of the Martin; the dates of which, for the Province of Verona, would run from April 12th to May 1st, and from July 25th to September 10th. Some Martins are, however, found also in October, while Black Kites have never been observed at Grezzano at that epoch. They arrive separately, and not in flocks, a fact which has already been stated by Ferragni in treating of the Province of Cremona, and by Ruggeri and Pistone in writing of that of Messina. Irby in Spain, Favier in Morocco, and Count Allèon at Constantinople have observed that Black Kites migrate in numerous troops. As soon as they arrive, they set about constructing their nests, which they build new every year. They have never been known to take possession of those of Herons or Crows, which are so abundant in those regions, and with these birds they seem to live in peace. Their nest is ready about the 10th of May, and they take twenty days to build it. They generally breed only in the wood; but nests have also been found in old and lofty trees in the country round about. They prefer the poplar, and build more rarely in the oak. They choose tall trees that reach a height of from thirty to forty metres, and build their nests on the fork of the thickest branches, perhaps for safety, so that the wind may not blow them down from such a height. They are large and easily noticed from the ground, and the bird hatches without being seen; but sometimes the nests are smaller, and then the head and tail of the sitting bird peep out. But this only occurs when they are young; in the second year of their age they make it larger. Goebel also says that the nest is very small, and that very often the head and tail of the sitting bird can be seen on every side of the nest. The height of the nest from the ground varies from about twenty-five to thirty metres; it is seldom lower. It consists of stout twigs strongly interlaced, ill-connected, but intertwined, and secured to the branch, from which the nest stands out like a bundle of wood. In the interior you see a hard layer formed with pieces of paper, linen rags which the Kite gathers here and there about the houses and dunghills; mud, and the dry dung of oxen, horses, &c, are added to unite the rags strongly together. This nest-bottom