182 FALCONID/E. 



smoky brown ; the wing-coverts and scapulars lighter ; primaries 

 dark brown, inclining to purplish brown towards the tips ; the inner 

 web buffy white, barred with brown ; shafts whitish ; secondaries 

 paler brown like the back ; tail uniform smoky brown, with whitish 

 shafts and pale whity brown tips, showing under certain lights ob- 

 solete remains of light cross bars, which are still distinctly indicated 

 on the inner web and under surface of the tail, which is ashy white ; 

 lores whitish ; sides of face and cf neck, as well as the entire under 

 surface of the body, including the under wing- and tail-coverts, 

 uniform smoky brown, somewhat washed with rufous on the sides 

 of the face and throat. Total length 20 inches, culmen 1-25, wing 

 15-4, tail 9, tarsus 3, bare part of tarsus in front 1-1 to the root of 

 middle toe, on the side to sole of foot 1. 



Notwithstanding the opinion of MacgiUivray and others that 

 Buzzards get whiter as they grow older, my belief is that the con- 

 trary is the case, though it must be remembered that MacgiUivray's 

 observations were made on British specimens, which are certainly 

 darker than continental birds, and apparently so from the nest. 

 With regard to the present species I am nearly convinced that Buteo 

 plumipes of Hodgson is nothing more than the fully mature bird of 

 B. japonicus. In the ' Fauna Japonica ' the quite young bird, 

 answering to the same stage of B. vulgaris, is figured (pi. vi. u) ; 

 and on pi. vi. is an illustration of an older bird, showing the passage 

 from the young stage to that which I have described as the adult. 

 In this plumage it closely resembles B. desertorum, and may be 

 doing duty for that species in some Indian collections. In the spe- 

 cimen described by me the fuliginous colouring of the back, flanks, 

 and under wing-coverts shows the first approach to that uniform 

 coloration which is supposed to be the characteristic of Buteo 

 plumipes. 



Hah. From Nepaul and Sikhim eastwards through China to 

 Japan. 



a. Ad. St. Nepaul. B. H. Hodgson, Esq. [P.]. 



Type of species. 



b, c. Juv. sk. Nepaul. B. H. Hodgson, Esq. [P.]. 



d. Juv. St. Fokien, China. J. Gould, Esq. [P.l. 



e, f, g. Juv. sk. Fokien, China. J. Gould, Esq. [P.T. 

 A,"». Ad. sk. Fokien, China. J. Gould, Esq. [P.J. 

 j. Juv. St. Japan. Dr. Lidth de Jeude. 

 k. Juv. st. Japan. Purchased. 



10. Buteo hemilasius. 



Buteo hemilasius, Temm. Sr Schl. Faun. Japon., Aves, p. 18, pi. vii. 



(1850) ; Schl. Mm. P.-B. Buteones, p. 3 (1862). 

 Buteo asiaticus, Blyth, Ibis, 1866, p. 244 ; Hume, Rough Notes, ii. 



p. 283 (1870). 

 Archibuteo hemilasius, Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 10 (1869). 

 Archibuteo aquUinus, Swinh. P. Z. S. 1871, p. 339. 

 Buteo asiaticus, Schl. Mus. P.-B. Revue Accipitr. p. 107 (1873). 



Toung female (type of species, in rather bleached plumage). 

 Whity brown, darker on the lower back and least wing-coverta, the 



