OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA. 205 



KESTREL 



(Sparrow-hawk), 



Cerclineis cenchroides, Vig:, and Hors. 



Serk-neis seng-kroi'des. 

 Kerchneis, the kestrel ; kenchros, small grain ; eidos, form. 



TiNNUNCULUS CENCHROIDES, Gould, " Birds of Australia," fol., vol. i., 



pi. 13. 



Geographical Distribution. — Areas 1 to 9, excepting, possibly, 1 

 and 2. 



Key to the Species. — General appearance rufous ; head streaked with 

 black ; tail barred with black and tipped with white. Total 

 length. 11.5 inches; culmen, 0.75 inch; wing, 9.25 inches; tarsus, 

 1.5 inches. 



Hawks and Owls may be divided for our present purpose 

 into four divisions, according as they are beneficial or harm- 

 ful :— 



1. Species which are wholly beneficial. 



2. Those chiefly beneficial. 



3. Those in which the beneficial and harmful qualities 

 about balance. 



4. Harmful species. 



Though popularly called Sparrow-hawk, the Kestrel is not 

 the true Sparrow-hawk {Accipiter cirrhocefhalus), and the 

 point is worth emphasizing, because the former is insectivorous 

 or wholly beneficial, while the latter is strictly a bird of 

 prey. 



To science 15 species of Kestrels are known, of which one 

 is distributed throughout Australia, excepting, possibly, the 

 most northerly parts of the continent. Why the Kestrel 

 should be found in Derby on the west and Kockingham Bay 

 in the east, and no further north, is a matter that can only be 

 surmised. Some Falcons go into our lowest latitudes. These 



