Mr. J. H. Gurney on the Kestrel of Madagascar. 35 



cimen from the Seychelles, 1 find such a difference of size and 

 colouring as to lead me to believe that they are not examples of 

 Tinnunculus gracilis, but that they belong to a distinct and 

 undescribed species. The following Table will show the measure- 

 ments of these birds as compared with Tinnunculus gracilis, and 

 also with a male specimen of Tinnuriculus punctatus from the 

 Mauritius. 



From the above Table it will be apparent that the Madagascar 

 Kestrel exceeds the Seychelles species ( T. gracilis) in all the above 

 dimensions, whilst it is itself exceeded by the Mauritius bird 

 (T. punctatus) in all except the length of the wing from the 

 carpal joint. 



The colouring of the two birds sent from Madagascar is not 

 precisely identical. In specimen A, the feathers on the upper 

 part of the head and on the back of the neck are of a dark 

 grey, slightly tinged with rufous, with a darker shaft- mark 

 passing down the centre of each feather. The back and scapulars 

 are rufous, of a tint paler than that of the same parts in T. 

 gracilis, but darker than in T. punctatus, and much resembling 

 the colour of the back in T. rupicola (Daud.). The scapulars 

 are spotted with darker ovate spots, one at the end of each fea- 

 ther, which are larger in proportion as they are further removed 

 from the bird's head and neck. The wing-feathers are of a 

 brownish black, the pi-imaries being barred with rufous on their 

 inner webs, and the secondaries and tertiaries on both webs. 

 On the secondary feathers, the brownish-black bars are broader 

 than the rufous; but on the tertiaries this is reversed. The 



* Allowing half an inch to cover an accidental defect in the end of the 

 tail-feathers : this is a full allowance. 



P 2 



