Although once so abundant that it used, some two or three centuries ago, to feed on offal in the London streets, the remnant of our indigenous Kites are now reduced to some dozen individuals in the more remote parts of Wales. The gamekeeper, the egg-collector, and even the salmon-angler have all combined to destroy this noble species, and even now, when it is far too scarce to do any harm, a vandal has recently shot one of the remnant, and owing to a fault in the administration of the law has got off scot free. It will not be until we have public opinion aroused sufficiently to protect our natural beauties that this ruthless extermination of any rare bird will be stopped. Certain species, e.g. Robin, Thrush, Nightingale, House Martin, etc., are so well protected by that opinion as to become almost too numerous in certain places. The shooting of many of our rarer wanderers can do no great harm if the lust for killing rare birds must be indulged in, but our rare resident or breeding migrants should never be destroyed. We cannot replace what is thus killed, and these living bits of Nature form a heritage left us by former generations, which it becomes our duty to hand on to the future. For even in the immediate present the delight of seeing the living bird in its native haunts is not confined to ornithologists, but thousands, rich and poor, appreciate intensely the sight of one of our larger and rarer species, amidst its natural surroundings; and no censure can be too strong for the man who wilfully destroys that creature for his own selfish ends, whether for the sake of having its stuffed effigy in a glass case, or that he may bag a larger number of pheasants in due season. It is a crime as great or greater than the stealing of art treasures from our National Gallery.

The wide circling flight of the Kite is a magnificent sight, as it daily covers large tracts of country in search of its food. Offal and carrion are, or should be, the chief diet of this species, but in this country it chiefly subsists on small mammals and birds, becoming, at the nesting time, very bold and taking toll from the poultry-yard and game coverts.

The Kite was formerly common throughout England and by no means rare in Scotland, but for many years past it has been restricted to certain places, in almost all of which it is now extinct. It is only a very occasional wanderer to Ireland.

The nest is placed in a tall tree and composed of sticks, with a lining of any rubbish that can be found. The eggs, three in number, often only two, are pale blue, spotted and streaked with reddish.