444 



FALCONID^. 



Socage, Jorn. Lisb. 1868, p. 47 ; 

 ; Gurney, in Anderss. B. Dam. 



id. 



Rvpl. Sci.Alqh:, Ois. i. p. (39(1867) ; 



Gould, B. Gt. Br. part XTi. (1869) 



Ld. p. 15 (1872). 

 Falco rubripes, Less. Traite,^. 93 (1831). 



Tinnunculus rufipes, Kaup, Classif. Sdug. u. Vog. p. 108 (1844). 

 Tinnunculus vespertinus, Gray, Genera of B. i. p. 21 (1844)5 



Hand-l. B. i. p. 23 (1869). 

 Erythropus pallidus, Brehm, Naum. 1855, p. 269. 

 Erythropus minor, Brehm, ut supra. 



Adult male. Above leaden grey, a little paler on the wing-coverts, 

 the greater series of which are conspicuously silvery grey ; primary 

 coverts and quills silvery grey, the secondaries darker and approach- 

 ing the colonr of the back ; tail brownish black ; under surface bluish 

 grey, with faint indications of blackish shaft-stripes ; lower abdomen, 

 vent, under tail-coverts, and thighs rich chestnut ; under wing-coverts 

 leaden grey ; inner lining of wing brownish black ; cere, orbits, and 

 feet bright brownish red ; claws yellowish white, horn-coloured at 

 points ; bill yellowish horn-colour, blackish at tip ; iris light brown. 

 Total length 11-5 inches, culmen 0-75, wing 9-8, tail 5-6, tarsus 1-15. 



Adult female. Different from the male. Above bluish grey, with 

 transverse black bars on all the feathers, the interscapulary region a 

 little darker and more ashy ; tail also bluish grey, with narrow black 

 bars, the subterminal one much broader, the tip a little paler grey ; 

 quills brownish, externally ashy grey, barred on the inner web with 

 whitish ; head, hind neck, and underparts rufous, inclining to buff 

 on the under tail-coverts ; forehead whitish ; lores and feathers 

 round the eye greyish black ; sides of the face and neck as well as 

 the throat yellowish white, with faint indications of a pale rufous 

 moustachial streak ; soft parts as in the male, but less bright. Total 

 length 11 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 9-7, tail 5-6, tarsus 1-15. 



Toung. In general colour similar to the adult female, having the 

 tail barred with black. The fore part of the head is whitish ; and 

 there is a strong tinge of rufous on the edgings to the interscapulary 

 region, the bases to the feathers being blackish ; feathers round the 

 eye and on the upper part of ear-coverts greyish black, with faint 

 indications of a moustachial streak ; throat and sides of neck creamy 

 Avhite ; iinder surface rufous, paler than in the old female, and 

 streaked with blackish centres to the feathers, these developing into 

 spots towards the end of the feather ; cere, orbits, and feet reddish 

 yellow ; claws yellowish white, with dark grey tips. 



Hah. Eastern and Southern Europe, rare in the western portions, 



