Note 52 — Chapter XX · BIRD-LIFE OF THE SPANISH SPRING-TIME.

Some Kites (M. ictinus), which had been feeding on reptiles, had a most offensive smell. The beak of the male, in this species, is yellow to the tip; in the female, horn-colour. The kites all lay two eggs, on the bare sticks—only once, in each case, have we found the dual number exceeded, viz., M. ictinus, three young, on May 2nd; M. migrans, three eggs, on May 10th. We have found the eggs of the first-named as early as the closing days of March.