260 Mr. H. Seebohm on 



9*. BUTEO VULGARIS. 



An example with very conspicuously barred thighs^ and 

 with the tarsus feathered to within an inch of the toes, may 

 fairly claim to be considered to belong to var. japonicus. 



13. BlTTASTBR INDICUS. 



15. Falco peregrinus. 

 Kiukiang, December. 



15 a. Falco melanogenys. 



A male and female, both shot on the 18th of March at 

 Hai San, are pronounced by Mr. J. H. Gurney to be of this 

 species. They differ from our Peregrine, which is probably 

 only a winter visitor to Central China, in being slightly 

 smaller, and in having the underparts below the breast much 

 barred and sufPnsed with slate-grey ; but the most important 

 character is the colour of the head and nape, which are nearly 

 black, shading into slate-grey on the mantle. This sjiecies 

 can scarcely be more than a local race of our Peregrine, 

 breeding in Australia, ranging northwards to Borneo and 

 Central China and westwards to Sumatra and Java, and 

 intermediate in appearance between our bird and the North- 

 west Indian race, F. ati'iceps, in which the whole of the upper 

 parts are very dark slate-grey, approaching black. Mr. 

 Gurney informs me that the Norwich Museum possesses an 

 example from Amoy, the most northerly locality previously 

 known. 



23. MiLVUS MELANOTIS. 



Four examples, large birds, showing much white at the 

 base of the primaries below the under wing-coverts, and with 

 little or no white on the forehead, are referable to this species, 

 which can only be regarded as the eastern race of our Black 

 Kite. 



33. Circus ^eruginosus. 



An example with dark-chestnut belly, thighs, and under 



* The numljers refer to Swinlioe's " Catalogue of the ]3irds of China," 

 published in the ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London ' for 

 1871, pp. 337-423. 



