346 FALCONID-E. 



paler than the foregoing, and the throat whitish, the feathers 

 slightly rufescent towards their tips, and having hair-Kke black 

 shafts, widening slightly towards the ends, and a little more distinct 

 on the malar line ; wings and tail much as in the foregoing example, 

 but the wing-coverts not distinctly tipped with white, and the bars 

 on tail almost entirely absent. 



06s. Two specimens, not quite adult, from the Gold Coast, give 

 an idea of the changes which take place while the young bird is 

 away in its winter quarters. They are a little older than the Syrian 

 bird, but have not such a uniform tail, showing, probably, that 

 whereas the latter has remains of the cross mottling only on the 

 under surface of the tail, these African birds have still considerable 

 remains on the upper surface, and yet as regards other points they 

 are further advanced in plumage *. In general these birds resemble 

 the foregoing plumage, but are a little more uniform above, and 

 show scarcely any rufescent margins to the wing-coverts, the secon- 

 daries also being less distinctly tipped. The white forehead is less 

 plain in one bird than in the other ; but both have the paler throat 

 and narrow shaft-lines of the preceding plumage. The chief differ- 

 ence lies in the fact that they show that the next important change 

 of the young bird is on the lower parts, which become broadly 

 barred with white. 



The Syrian bird shows no trace of bars, but is uniform under- 

 neath ; the bases of the feathers, however, are whitish, and slight 

 mottlings of white are apparent for some part of their extent. The 

 passage from this dress to the fully adult plumage next to be de- 

 scribed is apparently gained by a partial moult as well as by a 

 gradual change of colour, the latter progressing, certainly as regards 

 the under surface, until the under surface becomes white with 

 remains of the brown bars. The tail is changed by the time the 

 grey face appears. 



Adult male. Above brown, the feathers slightly paler on their 

 margins, with a distinct black shaft-stripe, the nape-feathers con- 

 spicuously white at the base ; greater coverts and quills much darker 

 at tip, externally shaded with greyish, and having two basal bars of 

 dark brown, more conspicuous below, where the feathers are whitish, 

 with some slight greyish freeklings on the inner web, much more 

 pronounced on the secondaries ; upper tail-coverts rather paler 

 brown than the back, with obsolete white tips, and rather broad 

 bars,of white near the base ; tail pale brown, narrowly tipped with 

 whitish, with which also the immediate base is mottled, the feathers 

 crossed with three bands — one subbasal and rather pale brown, one 

 median, and another subterminal, both the latter dark brown ; head 



* This either shows that the present species does not follow the exact sequence 

 of change of plumage in the case of each individual (cf. Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1873, 

 p. 416"), or else the more uniform tail of the Syrian bird is owing to the in- 

 herent melanism of the species. Certainly the melanism of many specimens 

 which I have seen affected young birds as well as old ; and it is by no means a 

 sign of age in Kites. Witness the specimen of Lep'fodon uncinatus in the Mu- 

 seum, which still retains signs of immaturity, but is uniformly fuliginous. 



