upon the throat are light brown, and the secondary quills greyish brown. The eye is reddish brown, the beak, cere, cheek-stripes, and feet blue, the latter shaded with red. The length of the adult female is one foot ten inches, its breadth five feet ten inches; the wing measures one foot nine inches, and the tail not more than five inches. The male is not quite so large. [Illustration: THE SHORT-TAILED KITE (_Helotarsus ecaudatus_).] This remarkable bird, whose extraordinary appearance has caused it to be the subject of many strange superstitions among the natives of Africa, is found throughout the whole of that continent, excepting its most northern portions: it lives principally in mountainous districts, but nevertheless constantly makes its appearance in all parts of the widely-extended plains; yet, notwithstanding the frequency with which this bird is seen by travellers, it is by no means easy to obtain possession of a specimen, as it usually soars so high when in flight as to be out of gunshot, and will often pass the entire day in thus sailing over extensive tracts of country; at noon, however, it may generally be found slaking its thirst at a pool of water, or taking a short nap upon a tree near some stream. The afternoon and early evening are spent in the pursuit of food, and it is only when darkness has fully closed in that the "Mountebank" seeks shelter for the night. Le Vaillant mentions having seen this species flying about in pairs, but we ourselves have always found it solitary; during the breeding season alone it is to be found associated with others of its kind in small parties. Speke tells us that the Short-tailed Kite is regarded by some of the African tribes with superstitious dread, its shadow being supposed to bring ill-luck, while others, on the contrary, venerate it on account of its imaginary powers of healing by means of rare medicinal roots which they imagine that it flies to a great distance to obtain. The latter notion has no doubt arisen from the fact that the snakes so frequently devoured by this bird have been mistaken for pieces of roots, when borne by their destroyer to its resting-place. From the strange antics and remarkable appearance of this Kite, it is called by the Abyssinians "The Monkey of the Sky;" and those who have seen it alternately tumbling, gliding, rising, or falling through the air will own that the name is not ill applied. Only when on the wing can the beauty of the Mountebank be fully appreciated; while in the trees its appearance is most ungainly--the body is inflated till it looks like a ball of feathers, and the plumage hangs loose about the neck and face, the head being meanwhile turned about in all directions, after the manner of the Screech Owl. The sight of this bird, like that of other Kites, is very keen, and its powers of hearing excellent. In its wild state it is extremely shy, even towards its congeners; and though