72 FALCONID^. 



of ortlioptei'ous or neuroi^terous insects, which the birds 

 seize with their feet when on the wing ; but they also search 

 on the ground for dung-beetles, and lizards occasionally form 

 part of their diet, though they do not appear to prey on birds. 

 Their cry resembles, says the same observer, that of the 

 Kestrel, but is uttered less frequently. 



This species goes through several interesting changes of 

 plumage, which are here described in detail. The upper 

 figure in the engraving at the head of the article represents 

 a young female ; the lower one an adult male. 



In the adult male, the base of the beak is yellowish-white, 

 the other part dark horn-colour ; the cere and eyelids 

 reddish-orange, the irides dark brown ; the head, neck, back, 

 upper surface of the wings and tail, the throat, breast, belly, 

 and under wing-coverts, of a uniform dark lead-colour ; the 

 thighs, vent and under tail-coverts, deep ferruginous ; the 

 legs and toes reddish flesh- colour ; the claws yellowish-white, 

 with dusky tips. The whole length of the bird eleven 

 inches. 



The young males before their first change are similar to 

 the young females, as hereafter described. At their first 

 change, they become of a uniform pearl-grey ; the thighs 

 and flanks ferruginous ; beak, cere, eyes, legs, toes, and 

 claws, as in the old male. The vignette is taken from a 

 young male that has nearly completed his first change, but 

 still retains a portion of the bai-red appearance of his first 

 livery on the outer or distal part of the wing, on the lower 

 part of the back and the tail-feathers, the middle pair only 

 of which are as yet moulted. 



The adult female has the beak, cere, irides and legs as 

 in the male ; the head .and back of the neck reddish-brown ; 

 the eye surrounded with dusky feathers almost black ; the 

 whole of the back, wing-coverts and tail, blackish-grey, 

 barred transversely with bluish -black; upper surface of 

 the primaries uniform dusky-l)lack. The chin and throat 

 nearly white ; the breast and all the under surface of 

 the body pale rufous, with dark reddish-brown longitudinal 

 streaks ; the thighs plain rufous ; under wing-coverts rufous. 



