48 Mr. C. A. Wright's List of the Birds 



(1859, p. 159), shot in Malta by Colonel Drummond-Hay. I 

 wrote to Mr. Tristram, the author of the statement in ' The 

 Ibis,' and he very kindly informed me that Colonel Drummond- 

 Hay fancied the bird shot by him was a small Peregrine ; but 

 Mr. Tristram thinks he is mistaken. Under these circumstances, 

 I admit the bird on probation only. 



18. Falcg subbuteo. (Hobby.) 

 Bies, Maltese. 



Not uncommon in spring and autumn. As is the case with 

 nearly all the birds of passage, the Hobby is much scarcer in 

 some years than in others. In the autumn of 1862 I could not 

 obtain a single specimen. 



19. Falcg eleonor^e. (Eleonora Falcon.) 



Mr. Tristram kindly informs me that a specimen of this rare 

 bird was shot in Malta by Colonel Drummond-Hay, and is in 

 his (Colonel Drummond-Hay's) collection. 



20. Falco lithofalco. (Merlin.) 

 Spagnolett or Seker, Maltese. 



Not uncommon in spring and autumn, particularly in the lat- 

 ter season, when both old and young appear. 



21. Falco vespebtinus. (Orange-legged Hobby.) 

 Spagnolett -ekhal or Vespertin, Maltese. 



This pretty little Hawk also visits us in the vernal and autumnal 

 periods of migration, and in some years in much larger numbers 

 than in others. It is sometimes to be met with in small flocks, 

 when they will allow repeated shots to be fired at them without 

 taking alarm. In this way I have killed three or four in a few 

 minutes out of a flock of twenty, and might, I dare say, have 

 killed many others. An adult male, belonging to Dr. Leith 

 Adams, was caught in a platform-net, while in the act of stoop- 

 ing at a decoy Yellow Wagtail. 



22. Falco tinnunculus. (Kestrel.) 

 Spagnolett, adult male ; Seker, female, Maltese. 



Common in spring and autumn. Breeds here in the cliffs 

 and fortifications in May, and a few pairs are to be seen all the 

 year. 



