338 Dr. T. C. Jerdon's Supplementary Notes 



44ihis. BuTEo DESERTORUAi, Daudin. The Rufous Buzzard. 



Buteo desei'torwn, Levaill. Ois. d'Afrique, pi. 17. 



B. rufiventer, Jerdon, 111. Ind. Orn. pi. 27. 



B. cirtensis, Levaill. Expl. Alg^rie, pi. 3. 



I was the first to notice the occurrence of this Buzzard in 

 India, which I did in my '' Supplement to the Birds of the Pe- 

 ninsula of India'^"^, and afterwards figured it in my ^Illustrations 

 of Indian Ornithology.' Latterly, following Blyth, I gave it in 

 * The Birds of India ' as simply a rufous variety of B. vulgaris. 

 I procured it on the Neilgherries ; it has been sent from Madras 

 and Ceylon ; and Hodgson procured it also in Nepal, but does 

 not appear to have distinguished it from his B. canescens {ferox) ; 

 and indeed Blyth, to whom I sent my type specimen, for long 

 insisted on considering it the same. Von Pelzeln likewise gives 

 it as a synonym of B. ferox. It is, however, a very distinct species, 

 being smaller even than B. vulgaris. Besides occurring through- 

 out all Africa, India, and Ceylon, it is noted from Persia. 



It is certainly, however, a rare bird in India, or has been very 

 much overlooked by collectors. 



45. Buteo feros, Gmelin. 



Falco leucurus, Naumann. 



Buteo rufescens, Riipp. 



B. canescens, Jerdou, B. India. 



B. longipes, Jerdon, Cat. 



B. fuliginosus, Hume, Ibis, 1869, p. 356. 



This Buzzard is much more common in the North-west Pro- 

 vinces and the Punjab than it is in Southern or Central India ; 

 but Hume states that comparatively few breed in the plains to 

 the east of the Jhelum, most of them withdrawing to the lower 

 ranges of the hills, and the North-west Punjab. 



When travelling in the desert country of Hansi, Sirsa, &c. 

 in two winters, I frequently saw a very dark Buzzard with 

 what appeared to be a very white tail, but always failed to 

 procure a specimen. I mentioned this in a few notes I put 

 together at Mr. Hume's request. On visiting that gentleman 

 1 found that he had procured specimens of that bird, and was 



* Madras Joiu-nal, xiii. p. 165. 



