38 ARKIV FÖR ZOOLOGI. BARD 14. N:0 25. 



longer t han those on either side), but the fourth is only some- 

 what sinuate on the inner, not really notched. Tliese are 

 labeled as follows: 1 $ '7^ 1918, Pichincha 12000 f.; 1. sp. 

 unsexed, ^^ 1907, 1 ^ ^^^^ 1908, Antisana 11500 f. 



With regard to the colour of the plumage these are rather 

 similar inter se, dark brown with rufous or buff margins 

 to the feathers of the upper side. The wing-quills are more 

 or less grey, partly white on the inner web, with black bars, 

 and with the tips of the outer primaries black. The tail- 

 feathers are grey, partly white on the inner web, with 15 to 

 20 dark bars, the subapical of which is somewhat broader than 

 the others, but not more than 1 cm. and usually less, thus 

 very different from the very broad black subapical band of 

 the adult. The lower side is dark brown, a very dark shade 

 of »warm sepia», with light markings. In the female from 

 Pichincha the latter are constituted by broad rufous margins 

 to the feathers of the breast, by buffish margins and bars on 

 the feathers of the abdomen and the lower tail-coverts. The 

 two other specimens have very little rufous markings on the 

 breast, and the feathers of the abdomen are only slightly 

 tipped with buffish and provided with some light spöts, chiefly 

 on the concealed parts, but the tail-coverts are barred as in 

 the female. On the whole they are, however, much darker 

 below than the latter. The length of the wing is in the un- 

 sexed specimen 442, in the others about 425 mm. 



Stränge to say there are still two specimens of Buteo, 

 which bear a certain resemblance to those just described, but 

 which cannot without very much hesitation be identified with 

 B. hypospodius for several reasons. Firstly they are con- 

 siderably smaller and, secondly the order of size of the primaries 

 is different. The third and fourth primaries are subequal in 

 length, but the fifth is not less than 18 to 25 mm. shorter than 

 the two next outer ones. The value of such a characteristic 

 is difficult to dispute. The equal size of third, fourth and 

 fifth primaries is, as we have seen, characteristic for Buteo 

 hypospodius, while B. erythronotus has the fifth decidedly 

 shorter than the two next outer ones, just as is the case with 

 these specimens. With regard to the length of the wing these 

 specimens fall within the limits of variation for B. erythronotus 

 as well. The colour-pattern is, however, entirely and strikingly 

 different, because there is not the slightest trace of rufous 



