44 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



proximans and Accipitur iorquatus, has a more grey or blue 

 coloured back, and has the transverse lines on the breast 

 narrower and of a more rufous tint. It precisely resembles the 

 first-mentioned bird in the rounded form of the tail, in the 

 short powerful tarsus, and in the more abbreviated middle toe. 

 I have been surprised by observing that the late Mr. Strickland 

 considered this bird and the A. approximans to be identical ; 

 no two birds of the same genus can be more distinct. 



The Astur cruentus is a very common species in Western 

 Australia, particularly in the York district. Since the publi- 

 cation of the folio edition of the ' Birds of Australia,' I have 

 seen a specimen of this bird from Port Essington ; I believe 

 it also occurs at Lombok, Batchian, and Timor, which proves 

 that the species is found far beyond the limits of the colony 

 of Western Australia. Like its congener, it is a remarkably 

 bold and sanguinary species, often visiting the farmyard and 

 carrying off fowls and pigeons with much apparent ease. 



It breeds in October and the two following months, making 

 a nest of dried sticks on the horizontal fork of a gum or 

 mahogany tree. 



The male has the crown of the head and occiput dark slate- 

 colour ; sides of the face grey ; at the back of the neck a 

 collar of chestnut-red ; back, wings, and tail slaty brown, the 

 brown hue predominating on the back, and the slate-colour 

 upon the other parts ; inner webs of the primaries fading into 

 white at the base, and crossed by bars of slate-colour, the 

 interspaces freckled with buff; the inner webs of the tail- 

 feathers are marked in a precisely similar manner ; chin bufly 

 white; the whole of the under surface rust-red, crossed by 

 numerous narrow semicircular bands of white ; irides bright 

 yellow ; cere dull yellow ; bill black at the tip, blue at the 

 base ; legs and feet pale yellow ; claws black. 



The female differs in having all the upper surface brown ; 

 the chestnut band at the back of the neck wider, but not so 

 rich in colour ; in all other respects she resembles her mate. 



