Mr. R. B. Sharpe's Catalogue of Accipitres. 309 



decidedly belongs to the present species; but it is, so far as 

 I can ascertain, almost impossible to distinguish F. barbarus 

 and F. minor in immature dress. '^ I regret that, not having 

 the measurements of the specimen, I am unable to ofter an 

 opinion as to the species to which it belongs ; in the first 

 year's plumage this can only be done Avith any certainty in 

 the case of specimens the sex of which has been ascertained 

 by dissection, and in these the measurement is usually a trust- 

 worthy guide. On the subject of measurement I may observe 

 that Mr. Blanford, in his article on the Auseba- valley Falcon, 

 speaks of the difference in the length of the tail between 

 F. barbarus and F. minor, basing his remarks on measure- 

 ments of the latter given by Mr. Layard in his work on the 

 ' Birds of South Africa.' I find it very difhcult to obtain an 

 accurate measurement of the length of the tail in mounted 

 specimens, and even in those in the skin, as it is almost 

 impossible in such cases to examine the root of the tail with- 

 out injuriously disturbing the tail-coverts : so far as I can 

 judge from the examples which I have examined, there is no 

 appreciable difference in the length of the tail betM'een the 

 males of F. barbarus and F. minor; but in tlie females the 

 difference is apparent, the female of F. minor being altogether 

 a larger bird than that of F. barbarus, and in consequence 

 having a tail fully half an inch longer. 



I have already referred to a North-African Falcon which 

 Mr. Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe,' has treated as identical 

 with the South- African Falco tninor, but which I think should 

 rank as a distinct subspecies, being somewhat larger than 

 F. minor and much more variable in the coloration of its adult 

 plumage. 



The greater number of the specimens which have come 

 under my notice have been sent to this country either from 

 Mogador or from Tangier; but it inhabits Algeria, as well 

 as Barbary, and has been obtained in Spain and the Balearic 

 Islands. It has also probably been met with in Northern 

 Italy ■^; in Asia iNlinor it is resident, and is no doubt the 



* Mr. Dresser writes thus, m \\u article uu F(t!c<i tiu'nor in the ' Birds 

 of Europe'; — " It lias been obtained near Milan, whence M. Jules Yian 



