Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/269

Rh Pavia; Zanni and Bettoni record it for Brescia; Paglia records it for Mantovano; Ferragni for Cremona; Carlini does not record it for Valtellina; Pavesi excludes it from the region of Tessin, but Riva had previously recorded a single specimen. Authors agree in saying that it is rare in these places, except Ferragni, who says that in the Province of Cremona it is scarce, but passes regularly in May.

—Count Ninni says:—"It lives in the wood of Cansiglio, but it is not certain that it nests there. It has nested in the wood of the Marquis of Canossa at Grezzan (Perini)." Naccari does not record the Black Kite from Venetian territory, and Contarini refers to it as a rare bird. Ninni had a nestling, but he calls it an accidental visitor, and very rare. A specimen from the Province of Treviso, caught at the mouth of the Sile, is preserved in Scarpa's collection. I have mentioned a specimen killed at Vigodarzere on May 25th, 1885. We do not find it mentioned among the birds of the Province of Belluno (Doglioni), nor among those of Friuli (Vallon, Pirona); but recently my friend Professor Tellini has included this species among those which are probably caught in the aforesaid region, but which cannot yet be declared as such for certain. It is not noticed among the birds of Bassano (Baseggio), nor among those of the Province of Rodigino (Dal Fiume). We have no precise information for the Province of Vicenza. As for Verona, Perini, an author who cannot always be relied upon, wrote, in 1858, that, during a period of fifteen years, he had only succeeded in observing two examples of the Black Kite. "We are assured, however," he adds, "by the Marquis Bonaventura, of Canossa, that this Kite breeds in his wood at Grezzan, where it lays from three to four eggs of a yellowish white colour, with obscure spots very close to one another." In his edition of 1874 the same author remarks: "It is rare in our Province; its nest has, however, been found sometimes," without naming a locality. De Betta says it is rare, and, relying simply on Perini, states that it has bred in Canossa's wood. I do not find the Black Kite