21. MELIEKAX. 91 



Young. Brown, with rufous edgings to the feathers of the upper 

 surface ; quills and tail tipped with white, otherwise like the adult ; 

 crown of the head and neck much mottled with rufous ; the nape 

 slightly streaked with white ; the ear-coverts rufous, slightly streaked 

 with brown ; throat and chest rufous, with very distinct streaks of 

 dark brown down the centre of the feathers ; rest of the under sur- 

 face rufous white, narrowly banded with dark brown ; the under 

 taU-coverts buffy white, slightly marked with rufous ; the under 

 wing-coverts white, washed with rufous and mottled with brown ; 

 cere, base of bill, feet, and iris yellow. 



Hub* Africa generally, except the west coast, from Sierra Leone 

 to Angola. Said to occur sometimes in Southern Europe. 



a. (S juv. St. Latakoo, S. Africa. M. J. Ven-eaux [C.l. 



b. 2 ad. St. Elephant River, S. M. J. Verreaux [C.]. 



Africa. 



c. 5 juv- st- Sunday River, S. M. J. Verreaux [C.]. 



iVfrica. 



d. Juv. St. South Africa. S. -African Museum. 



e. (? ad. St. South Africa. Zoological Society. 

 /. 2 ^d. sk. South Africa. 



g, h. (S ad. sk. Tete, Zambesi. Dr. Livingstone [C.l. 



V. $ ad. sk. Fifth Cataract of the F. Galton, Esq. [C.]. 



Nile. 



j. 2 i^^' sk. Kordofan, Aug. 20, Consul Petherick [CI. 



1848. 



k. 2 f^d. sk. Bogos Land. Herr Esler [C], 



I. 2 juv- s^- Bogos Land. Hen- Esler [C.J. 



m. c? ad. sk. Ailat, Samhar, W, T. Blanford, Esq. [C.l. 



June 29, 1868. 



n. Sternum. W. T. Blanford, Esq. [C.]. 



5. Melierax niger. 



Sparvius niger, Bonn, et Vieill. Enc. Meth. iii. p. 1269 (182.3) ; Vieill. 



et Oud. Gal. des Ois. i. pi. 22 (182-5). 

 Nisus niger, Cuv. Rigne Anim. i. p. 334 (1829) ; Less. Traite, p. 59 



(1831); HeiKil. Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 74(1869); Blanf. Geol. 8f 



Zool. Abyss, p. 293 (1870) ; Finsch n. HaHl. Vog. Ostafr. p. 89 



(1870) ; Finsch, Tr. Z. S. vii. p. 207 (1870). 

 Accipiter niger, Gould, Sgn. B. Aiistr. part 3 (1838) ; Gray, Cat. 



Accipt'tr. p. 37 (1844); Strickl. Orn. Syn. p. 113 (18-55). 

 Falco carbonarius, Licht. Verz. Vog. Kaffernl. p. 11 (1842). 

 Circus maurus, JRiipp. Syst. Uehers. p. 12 (1845, err.). 

 Accipiter carbonarius, Gray, Gen. of B. i. p. 29 (1849) ; Strickl. 



P. Z. S. 1850, p. 215. 

 Micronisus niger, Bp. Consp. i. p. 33 (1850) ; id. Rev. et Mag. de 



Zool. 1854, p. 538 ; Heugl. Ibis, 1861, p. 74 ; Scl. Ibis, 1864, p. 306 ; 



Gray, Sand-l. B. i. p. 35 (1869). 

 Astur niger, KaHl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 14 (1857). 

 Micronisus miltopus, Heugl. J.f. O. 1861, p. 429. 

 Melierax niger, Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 31 (1867) ; Anderss. B. Dam. 



Ld., ed. Gurney, p. 29 (1872). 



* After careful comparison, I am not able to separate the northern and southern 

 specimens of this bird specifically. 



