to ' The Birds of India.' 241 



the Punjab, usually witliout any prefix. According to Colonel 

 Delme-RadclifFe it is sometimes called Safeid Shahin, i.e. white 

 Shahia, or Lal'Sir Shahin, meaning red-headed Shahin. I have 

 had several brought to me captured close to Umritsir, and have 

 seen them takeu not far from Delhi. Mr. Hume has also I'c- 

 ceived it from Central India. It clearly belongs to the Peregrine 

 group rather than to the Lanners, with which, following Sclater, 

 I classed it in my ' Birds of India ; ' and this was long ago pointed 

 out to me by Colonel Delme-RadclifFe before I had seen it my- 

 self. It is not very highly esteemed by the Punjab falconers ; 

 but Delme-Radcliffe says that it is highly valued at Peshawur ; 

 He states that an old Falcon which has moulted seven times, in 

 the possession of Lieut. Griffiths, kills Black Curlew {Geronticus 

 papillosus), Mallard, Teal, and all the kinds of Partridges. They 

 are usually trained for Partridges and Plovers. 



A female, in her second year, that died in my possession had 

 the head deep rufous, some of the feathers centred with slaty 

 brown, and a line from the eye to the nape also rufous; the 

 upper plumage generally ashy, each feather banded with dark 

 slaty- and edged with pale rufous-grey ; the rump a clear ashy- 

 blue, with the dark markings somewhat arrow-shaped; tail slaty 

 with a tinge of rufous, and tipped with the same; beneath rufes- 

 cent, whitish on the chin and throat ; a few small brown spots on 

 the lower parts of the breast and abdomen ; the flanks and under 

 wing-coverts narrowly banded with dusky brown ; thigh-coverts 

 with small arrow-shaped marks; tail beneath dusky brown, with 

 pale rufous bands on the inner webs only of the quills. Cere yel- 

 low; bill bluish, black at the tip; legs and feet yellow. Length 17 

 inches, expanse 42, wing 12, tail 6^, mid toe with claw nearly 

 2|. A young bird in its first plumage, but much abraded, has the 

 whole upper parts dull brown, the white of the chin and throat 

 extending partially on the sides of the neck ; the lower parts very 

 pale whitish rufescent, with numerous longitudinal oval streaks 

 of brown ; the tail a darker brown, with pale rufescent bands. 



This Falcon is clearly the Falco peregrinoides of Gray's * List 

 of Hodgson's Nepal Birds;' and Hodgson has figured it under 

 that name among his drawings in the British Museum. It so 

 closely resembles the figure of that Falcon in Temiuinck's 



SER. III. VOL. I. R 



