456 M. Sundevall on the Birds of Calcutta. 



Albus, supra cinereus, tectricibus alarum minoribus nigris. Un- 

 gues teretes, remigum 2 da reliquis longior. 



$ (Serampore d. 16 Febr.) albus supra totus pallide incanus, 

 fronte alba. Orbita antice cum lineola superciliari nigra. Alee extus 

 colore dorsi, vitta antica nigra ; pennis primariis fuscis extus obscure 

 canis, subtus et margine albis ; caudam aequantes. Cauda minime 

 furcata : omnino oequalis ; alba, pennis 2 mediis canis. Rostrum ni- 

 grum basi flavum debile. Lora et mentum setosa. Pedes flavi, crassi, 

 cute molli, quasi spongiosa tota reticulata. Digiti fissi, vix diver- 

 gentes, subtus lseves. Long. 12|- poll. Ala 254 millim., tarsus 31, 

 digitus medius 30, cum ungue 42, cauda 124, rostrum e fronte 15. 



Few land birds seem to be more widely spread over the earth 

 than this species, which is found in Ulimaroa and the Indian 

 Islands, in all Southern Asia, all Africa, South Europe, and all the 

 warmer parts of America*. I only saw one specimen, which was 

 shot on the top of a tree. The stomach was quite thin, and con- 

 tained remains of a bird ; it had moreover a strong smell of fish, 

 but no remains of them were found. Nor was any trace seen of 

 insects, which are asserted to be the sole food of this bird. Yet 

 at that season there was no want of opportunity for an insectivo- 

 rous bird to satisfy itself with grasshoppers, crickets, &c, with 

 which the stomachs of most of the birds which I opened in Ben- 

 gal were filled. This species also is called Sikhrie like the Kestril, 

 Cuckoos, &c. 



61. Falco pondicerianus, L., Lath. no. 46; Horsf. Jav. et Ram. 

 Sum. Linn. Tr. xiii. — Haliaetus pondicerianus recentiorum. 



Rufus, capite, collo, pectoreque albis, limite definito. Adultus 

 (Febr. — Apr.). Rostrum albidum ; pedes flavi. Plumse capitis colli- 

 que angustatse, rhachide tenui nigra. Albedo pectoris fere ad pedes 

 extensa. Remiges primarise nigrse, basi ad medium rufse ; cubitales 

 rufa3, intus striis quibusdam transversis nigris. Cauda tota rufa. 

 Magnitudo Buteonis ; ala 360 mill., tarsus 50, digitus medius prseter 

 unguem 30. Rostrum simile F. ncevii : majus quam Buteonis. Nares 

 subrotundse paullo longitudinales. Remex 4 a reliquis longior. Cauda 

 rotundata, alas sequans. Tarsi antice scutis parvis ; basi tantum plu- 

 mati. Digiti toti scutati. (Affinis Milvo, nee F. albicillce.) Juniores 

 (Febr. — Apr.) similes adultis, coloribus tamen paullo obscurioribus 

 ornati. 



This handsome bird of prey is known by the name Bramin- 

 hawk, in Bengalese Bramini-tjill. The Hindoos regard it as a 

 Bramin among the hawks, or of a better caste than the others, 

 probably because it is the handsomest, and have a superstitious 

 veneration for it in the same way as the peasantry with us regard 

 the Stork and the Swallow. It occurs also in the Indian mytho- 



* The American bird, Elanus dispar, is distinct from E. melanoplerus. — 

 H. E. S. 



r 



