362 ]\Ir. J. II. Gurney on the Lesser Buzzard of South Africa. 



for I cannot but think that this small Buzzard is the " Rougri " 

 of Le Vaillant {Buteo deseiiorum of Daudin), the description and 

 figure of which appear to me to agree with the species now under 

 consideration in all points except one, namely, that the cere and 

 bill are both described as yellow, instead of the cere only. But 

 may not this have been a mere lapsus calami of the author, copied 

 by the artist into his drawing, which was probably made from 

 a skin of which the bill was faded, or (as is frequently th e case 

 in skins brought from hot countries) in which the horny covering 

 of the upper mandible had shelled off ? 



Such at least seems to me the probability, and with that view 

 I consider the small Buzzard of South Africa as entitled to the 

 specific name desertorum. 



M. DesMurs expresses a strong opinion that the small Buz- 

 zard of South Africa is specifically distinct from that of North 

 Africa {Buteo cirtensis of the " Exploration de PAlgerie '-) ; 

 but the only difference I can perceive between them is, that the 

 South- African bird is usually less rufous, and is somewhat paler 

 on the breast, which are hardly sufficient grounds for a specific 

 distinction. 



The geographical range oi Buteo cirtensis (even if it be distinct 

 from its South -African congener) is still very extensive, as it is 

 found generally in North Africa, from Mogador to Egypt ; and 

 it also occurs in European Turkey, in Southern Russia on the 

 Volga, at Smyrna, at Erzeroum, in Madras, and in Nepal. 



The Indian specimens which I have seen, and also that from 

 Erzeroum, are less rufous and more chocolate-coloured, especially 

 on the under parts, than more western specimens. This darker 

 form of colouring would seem to be as worthy of specific dis- 

 tinction as the paler-breasted race of South Africa, and it has 

 been figured and described as distinct by Mr. Jerdon in his 

 'Illustrations of Indian Ornithology' (pi. 27), under the title 

 of Buteo 1-ufiventer. 



M. DesMurs well remarks that Buteo cirtensis is closely allied 

 to the large rufous Buzzard of North-eastern Africa, South- 

 eastern Europe, and Asia. This larger species [Accipiter ferox of 

 S. Gmelin, Buteo rufinus of RiippcU, B. leucurus of Naumann, 

 and B. canescens of Hodgson) also extends as far east as India, 



