370 CIRCUS CYANEUS. 



part of the forehead, a band over the eye, and the loral space, 

 pale reddish-yellow ; the bristle-tips at the base of the bill 

 black. The feathers of the cheeks are dull brown edged with 

 yellowish-red ; those of the ruff light yellowish-red, with a 

 medial brown band. The upper hind part, sides, and fore 

 part of the neck, the breast, and sides, are light reddish-yellow, 

 each feather with an oblong umber-brown mark. Some of the 

 long feathers on the sides have four light spots, like those of 

 the female Merlin and Kestrel, and the central part of the outer 

 tibial, abdominal, and subcaudal feathers, is light brownish-red. 

 Many of the upper wing-coverts, and some of the scapulars, 

 have one or two round, light red spots. The bases of the occi- 

 pital feathers are white. The quills are umber-brown, slightly 

 margined with paler, their inner webs whitish, broadly barred 

 with dusky-brown, there being three bars on the outer and four 

 on the next three. The upper tail-coverts are white, with 

 lanceolate reddish-brown medial spots. The tail is white for 

 about an inch at the base, deep brown in the rest of its extent, 

 the four middle feathers with four greyish- brown bands, the 

 rest with five bands of a light reddish tint ; these bands much 

 narrower than the intervening dusky spaces ; the tips reddish- 

 white. The lower wing-coverts are reddish- white, with a cen- 

 tral brown spot ; the lower surface of the primary quills is 

 greyish-white, with conspicuous dark bars. 



Length to end of tail 21 inches, to end of wings 18g ; ex- 

 tent of wings 46 ; wing from flexure 15 ; tail 10 ; bill along 

 the ridge 1/^, along the edge of lower mandible lj% ; width 

 of mouth l^^g ; tarsus 8 ; first toe j%, its claw l^\ ; second toe 

 ^§, its claw lj\ ; third toe 1^, its claw {I ; fourth toe \^, 

 its claw j%. 



Variations. — Adult males vary in length from seventeen to 

 nineteen inches, females from nineteen to twenty-one and a 

 half. The scutella vary a little in number, except on the se- 

 cond toe, which in all the specimens examined by me has five. 

 In the males, the blue of the upper parts varies in tint, being 

 darker in young individuals, which have the bands on the tail 

 also more distinct. In old males, the lower parts are often 



