M. Sundevall on the Birds of Calcutta. 455 



fusco-flavescentes. Iris nigro-fusca. Oculi magni, valde convexi, 

 prominuli. Longit. 18 poll. sv. (in cute asservata cauda 2 J poll, 

 ultra alas). Ala flexa 330 mill., tarsus 47, digitus medius 63, cum 

 ungue 68 ; cauda 180. Rostrum e fauce 31, altit. 20, cum cranio 70. 

 Cubitus 98. Statura F.peregrini, vel paullo robustior ; rostrum pra?- 

 sertim crassius et convexius apparet ; alse, ratione reliquarum par- 

 tium, paullo breviores. 



On my homeward voyage from Bengal I obtained this hand- 

 some Falcon in 6° 20' N. between Ceylon and Sumatra, rather 

 nearer the last-named island, and at least seventy [Swedish] miles 

 from the nearest land, viz. the Nicobar Islands. It settled upon 

 the edge of a sail, whence it was shot down. I have only seen 

 the specimen described, and have procured no information of any 

 similar bird, either in books or collections. It might perhaps be 

 regarded as a tropical variety of Falco peregrinus, but the pure 

 black on the upper parts, the shorter wings and unusually large 

 projecting eyes give this bird a marked distinction from the com- 

 mon forms of that species. F. peregrinus occurs moreover in New 

 Holland, gray as with us, according to Vig. and Horsf., Linn. 

 Trans, vol. xiii.* It seems that a considerable number of birds 

 annually fly across from Sumatra and Ceylon, though they are 

 separated by a sea of more than 200 [Swedish] miles in width. 

 Only during my voyage through this channel I procured ten or 

 twelve birds, most of which are mentioned above, met with half- 

 way between these two islands. All sailors have opportunities of 

 seeing land birds at very considerable distances from shore, and 

 it seems not incredible that certain strong-flying species may 

 cross the ocean, even between America and the old continent, 

 though probably most of those which venture upon such a journey 

 perish before they have proceeded half-way. Among other in- 

 stances it may be mentioned that Catesby, in his last voyage to 

 America, met with an owl in the midst of the ocean in 26° N. 

 He does not tell us which species it wasf. 



60. Falco melanopterus, Daud. ; Lath. Suppl. 2 ; Horsf. Jav. Linn. 

 Tr. xiii. ; Glog. Eur. p. 85. — Le Blac, Levaili. Afr. 37, 36. Ela- 

 nus ca?sius, Sav. Eg. 98. pi. 11. El. melanopterus, Leach, Zool. 

 Misc. iii. p. 4 ; Vig. et Horsf. Linn. Tr. xv. Falco dispar, Temm. 

 PI. Col. 319 (var. Americ). 



* The New Holland bird is however distinct from peregrinus ; it U the 

 F. melanogenys, Gould. — 11. E. S. 



t F. peregrinator appears to migrate across the ocean to great distances 

 from India. I possess a specimen which I refer to this species, procured in 

 1833 on board ship between the Mauritius and Madagascar. M. Sundevall 

 gives a good figure of the species, and it is also represented under the name 

 of F. shaheen by Mr. Jerdon, in his 'Illustrations of Indian Ornithology,' 

 plates 12 and 28.— H. E. S. 



