FALCONS AND ALLIED SPECIES. 



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central papilla ; head rather large, roundish, flattened ; feet 

 short ; tarsus very short, thick, scaly all round ; toes with 

 pointed papillae beneath ; wings extremely long, pointed, with 

 the third quill longest ; tail long, and very deeply forked. 



1. Nauclerus furcatus. White-headed Sicalloic-Kite. Head, 

 neck, and lower parts white ; back, wings, and tail black. 



GENUS VIII. FALCO. FALCON. 



Bill short, robust, with the upper outline decurved from 

 the base, the sides very convex, the edge with a festoon and a 

 prominent angular process ; nostrils round, with a central tu- 

 bercle ; head large, roundish ; feet strong ; tarsi moderate, 

 reticulate ; claws long, well-curved ; wings long and pointed, 

 the second quill longest ; tail rather long, nearly even. 



1. Falco islandicus. Gyr Falcon. White, spotted with 

 dusky. Young brownish-grey or light grey above, beneath 

 yellowish- white, with longitudinal dusky streaks. 



2. Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. Wings nearly as 

 long as the tail. Adult greyish-blue above, beneath whitish, 

 with transverse dusky spots ; head and a band on the cheek 

 black. Young blackish-brown above, beneath reddish, with 

 longitudinal dusky spots. 



3. Falco Subbufeo. Hobby Falcon. AVings longer than the 

 tail. Adult greyish or brownish-black above, whitish beneath, 

 longitudinally spotted with dusky •, a black band on the cheek. 



4. Falco vespertinus. Orange-legged Falcon. Wings as long 

 as the tail. Male deep bluish-grey, with the abdomen and 

 legs yellowish-red. Female with the crown yellowish-red, 

 the back greyish-blue, the tail grey, both barred w^ith black. 



5. Falco JEsalon. Merlin Falcon. ^Vings shorter than 

 the tail. Male greyish-blue above, with dusky lines, reddish- 

 yellow, with oblong dusky spots beneath. Female greyish- 

 brown above, yellowish- white, with large dusky spots beneath. 

 Young with the upper parts brown, spotted with light red. 



6. Falco Tinminculus. Kestrel Falcon. Wings shorter than 

 the tail. Male light red, spotted with black above ; the head, 

 hind-neck, rump, and tail bluish -grey. Female and young 



VOL. 111. N 



