1 74 FALCONID^. 



Nesilinc/. Covered with white down, the shooting feathers ashy 

 brown, washed with rufous. 



Young, in change. Ashy brown above, the feathers paler and more 

 whity brown on their margins, the scapulars, as well as many 

 feathers of the head, neck, and interscapulary region, externally in- 

 clining to bright fawn ; feathers of hind neck dark brown, some of 

 the doi'sal feathers black ; quills black, externally shaded with ashy, 

 the secondaries paler brown, all white at base of inner web, the 

 secondaries barred towards the tip with ashy brown ; tail ashy 

 brown, washed on outer web with rufous, and crossed with eleven 

 or twelve bars of blackish brown, disappearing towards base ; sides 

 of face and throat rather dusky brown, inclining to blackish ; rest of 

 under surface bright fawn, the flanks and thighs slightly washed with 

 greyish ashy ; under wing-coverts rufous fawn, the lower ones dark 

 brown ; on breast a few white feathers, more or less mixed with 

 black, are appearing. 



The adult plumage is apparently gained by a moult, which, how- 

 ever, does not immediately complete the full dress, as the fresh 

 feathers on the under surface have a good deal of rufous on them, 

 and then rapidly change to black. The brown cross bars on the tail 

 disappear by degrees, foreshowing the uniformity of the new tail, 

 which, when put on by a moult, is clear chestnut, excepting a sub- 

 terminal patch of black, scarcely to be called a bar. The uniform 

 character of the thighs with the rest of the under surface, and their 

 rapid change to black, along with the breast-feathers, is a character 

 unlike B. vulgaris and B. desertoruin. 



Adult male. Everywhere sooty black ; tail chestnut-red, with a 

 black subterminal baud ; centre of chest whitish or rufous white, 

 more or less mottled with black, being the remains of immaturity, 

 as also are the white edgings to the feathers of the abdomen and 

 thighs, and rufous on the under tail-coverts ; quills black, primaries 

 externally ashy grey, secondaries whitish, both conspicuously barred 

 with black ; under surface of wing white, the secondaries barred 

 with blackish on the inner web, and crossed with a broad black" 

 subterminal band ; primaries black at tip ; lores whitish ; cere 

 yellow ; bill black, whitish at base ; feet yellow ; iris ochraceous 

 grey. Total length 21 inches, culmen 1-85, wing 17, tail 8, 

 tarsus 3"3. 



Adult female. A little larger than tho male. Total length 

 23 inches, wing 18, tail 9, tarsus 0-7. 



Ilab. South /\irica, below 24° S. lat. 



a, b. Ad. St. Cape of Good Hope. Major-Gen. Hardwicke [P.]. 



c. 2 ad. st. Knysna. M. J. Verreaux [C." 



d. 5 juv. St. Van Staden River. M. J. Verreaux [C] . 



e. 2 juv. St. Constance, S. Africa. M. .1. Verreaux [C. 

 /. Pull. st. Swarte Land, S. Africa. M. J. Verreaux [C. 

 <7, h. Skeletons. Pm'chased. 



