30 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



tralia, and which combines in its structure characters pertaining 

 to the Hobby and to the MerUn of Europe, is universally spread 

 over the southern portion of that country, Tasmania, and the 

 islands in Bass's Straits ; Gilbert also observed it on the 

 Cobourg Peninsula, but did not succeed in obtaining a speci- 

 men. As its long pointed wings clearly indicate, it possesses 

 great and rapid powers of flight ; and I have frequently been 

 amused by pairs of this bird following my course over the 

 plains for days together, in order to pounce upon the Quails 

 as they rose before me ; and had I wished to witness falconry 

 in perfection, I could not have had a better opportunity than 

 on these occasions. 



The White-fronted Ealcon is a stationary species in all the 

 colonies I visited. 1 succeeded in finding several of its nests, 

 both in Tasmania and on the continent : they were all placed 

 near the tops of the most lofty and generally inaccessible trees, 

 and were rather large structures, being fully equal in size to 

 that of a Crow, slightly concave in form, outwardly built of 

 sticks, and lined with the inner bark of trees and other soft 

 materials : the eggs were either two or three in number, of a 

 light buff, blotched and marbled all over with dark buff, one 

 inch and ten lines long by one inch and four lines broad. 



The stomach is rather muscular and capacious, and the 

 food consists of small birds and insects. 



Forehead greyish white ; crown of the head, cheeks, ear- 

 coverts, and all the upper surface uniform dark bluish grey ; 

 internal webs of the primaries, except the tips, numerously 

 barred with oval-shaped markings of buff ; two centre tail- 

 feathers grey, transversely barred with obscure markings of 

 black ; the remainder of the feathers on each side alternately 

 barred with lines of dark grey and reddish chestnut ; throat 

 and chest white, tinged with buff, the feathers of the chest 

 marked down the centre with a stripe of brown ; the whole 

 of the under surface and thighs dull reddish orange ; irides 

 blackish brown ; bill bluish lead-colour, becoming black at the 



