92 FALCONID^. 



Adult male. Entirely black, the tail crossed with three, sometimes 

 four, dusky irregular bars, brown a])ove, whitish beneath ; quills 

 blackish brown, white beneath, with blackish cross bars more distinct 

 below ; cere cinnabar-red ; bill black, the base cinuabar-red, as 

 also the feet ; iris scarlet. Total length 11-3 inches, culmcn 0-75, 

 wing 7'1, tail 5-4, tarsus l'7o. 



Adult female. Similar to the male, but a little larger. Total 

 length 13 inches, wing 8-1, tarsus 2-15. 



Hab. The same as that of M. gabar. 



a. Ad. st. South Africa. 



b. Ad. st. South Africa. 



c. Ad. sk. South Africa. South- African ]Museuni. 



d. Ad. sk. Damara Land. C. J. Andersson [C.]. 



c. S ad. sk. Kokai, Lebka, W. T. Blanford, Esq. [C.]. 



July 13, 1868. 

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



I have not had an opportunity of examining the following spe- 

 cies : — 



6. Melierax metabates. 



Melierax metabates, Heuyl. Ibis, 1861, p. 72. 



Astm- metabates, Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. p. 63 (1869) ; Grai/, Hand-l. 

 B. i. p. 36 (1869). 



Allied to M. polyzonus, but a little less, and differs in its more 

 robust feet and bill, the former being yellow ; the colour of the back 

 darker ; shoulder-feathers coloured like the back ; the outer webs 

 of the first tail-feather banded six or seven times ; the tips of the 

 lateral tail-feathers much more narrowly white ; the moustachial 

 region, as well as the region of the eye and the ear-coverts, uniform 

 with the crown ; cere and iris pale yellow. Total length of male 

 scarcely 15 inches ; bill from front 1-25, from gape 1-3, height of biU 

 8-5 (? 1-5) ; wing 12 ; tail 7'5, middle toe and claw 2-4, hind toe 

 and claw 1-7 ; tarsus 3-2 (French) inches. {Von Heuc/lin.) 



Hab. White Nile. 



This seems to me a very doubtful species, the characters brought 

 forward by Dr. von Heughn appearing to me to be characteristic of 

 an old bird of M. 2>oli/zonus. The difference in the proportions of 

 the two birds may ultimately turn out to be of importance ; but I 

 see no clearly distinguishing character at present. 



22. ASTUR. ™ 



Type. 



Astur, Lacep. Mem. de Vlnst. iii. p. 505 (1801) .... A. palumbarius. 



Daedalion, Saii. Descr. Egypte, p. 267 (1809) A. palumbarius. 



Sparvius, Vieill. Analyse,^. 24 (1816) A. palumbarius. 



Tachyspiza, Kaup, Class. Sdug. u. Vdy. p. 116 



(1844) A. soloensis. 



Lophospiza, id. torn. cit. p. 118 (1844) A. trivu'gatus. 



Leucospiza, id. torn. cit. p. 119 (1844) A. novae hoUandiae. 



Scelospiza, Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 173 A. franciscae. 



