90 FALCONID^. 



as far south as Canton. It visits most parts of India during 

 the cold weather, and is believed to breed in the Himalayas. 

 In Western Asia it penetrates to Arabia, and in Eastern 

 Africa to Kordofan. It breeds, according to Loche, in 

 Algeria, and Dr. Bolle says the same of it in the Canaries. 

 In Germany, Switzerland, and some districts of France, a 

 local race or species, the Acc'iplter major of some authors, is 

 said to occur; differing from A. nisiis in its larger size, in 

 the absence of the slate-colour above and the rust-colour 

 beneath, and in the broader, darker and more numerous 

 bands of the tail. M. Gerbe, in his revised edition of the 

 ' Ornithologie Europeenne ' of the late Dr. Degland, enters 

 at some length upon these alleged difterences, but the opinion 

 of most ornithologists, and probably the correct one, is that 

 the A. major is not a good species, or even a distinct race. 

 In the south of Russia, the Levant, and most likely other 

 adjoining countries, there does, however, exist a second 

 species of Sparrow-Hawk, known under various names, of 

 which A. hrevqwa (Severzow), seems to be the correct one. 

 This differs notably from the Common Sparrow-Hawk in its 

 shorter toes. It is the Falco finriici/l of Dr. Bree's ' Birds 

 of Europe ' (iv. p. 185). 



The adult male Sparrow-Hawk measures about twelve 

 inches in length ; the beak blue, lightest at the base ; the 

 cere greenish-yellow, the irides orange ; the uj^per surface 

 generally, with the exception of a small white spot on the 

 nape, of a dark bluish slate-colour ; tail greyish-brown, with 

 from three to five dark transverse bands ; the chin, cheeks, 

 throat, breast, belly, thighs and under tail-coverts, rufous, 

 with numerous transverse bars of darker rufous-brown ; 

 legs and toes yellow ; the claws black. 



The female is generally three inches longer than the 

 male ; the beak, bluish horn-colour ; cere yellowish, the 

 irides orange ; the top of the head, upper part of the neck, 

 except the white spot on the nape, back, wing- and tail- 

 coverts, brown, many of the feathers white at the base ; 

 primaries and tail light brown, with dark transverse bars ; 

 under surface of the neck, body, wing-coverts and thighs, 



