during a journey to the Matabili Country. 361 



Common through Natal and the Transvaal. In flight and 

 habits it resembles the common Kestrel. 



TiNNUxcuLus TiNNUNCULoiDES (Temm.). 

 Cerchneis naumanni, Sharpc, Cat. B. i. p. 435*. 

 $ . Limpopo, November 14, 1873. 

 Beak horn-colour; legs dark yellow; iris dark hazel. 



Carine perlata (Vieill.). 



Athene perlata, Gurn. And. B. Damara Land, p. 37. 

 Athene licua, Licht. ; Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 38. 

 6 . Tatti, Matabili-land, September 1st, 1873. 

 Common from the north of Pretoria into the Matabili 

 country. Their flight resembles that of a Woodpecker. 



Otus capensis (Smith) ; Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 43. 



a, 6 . Natal, May 25th, 1873. 



b, $ . Transvaal, June 8th, 1873. 

 Beak black ; iris dark hazel. 



Quite the commonest Owl in Natal and the Transvaal. 

 Like our own Short-eared Owl, this species, when disturbed 

 during the daytime, flies well ; but it is not until just about 

 dark that it comes forth of its own accord. Almost any even- 

 ing it might be seen hunting over ground intersected by a 

 " spruit ; " this it seems to prefer marshy ground. I never 

 heard it uttef any cry. Its flight resembles that of the 

 common Short-eared Owl. This species was not observed 

 north of Pretoria. 



naeus's specific name of the Kestrel for the genus, there can be no doubt 

 the generic name Tinnunculus should be applied to the Kestrels with T, 

 S2iarveritis as the type. — Ed.] 



* [Mr. Sharpe's sole authority for employing this name rests on afoot- 

 note in Naumann's Naturg. der Vog. Deutschl. i. p. 318, where we find 

 it said " Cenchris. Emerillon roux. Der kleinste rothe Falke. Frisch 

 Vdgel. t. 89. = Sylvan, v. Laurop und Fischer, Jahrg. 1818. S. unter dem 

 Nahmen Falco Naumanni v. G. Fleischer." From this it would appear 

 that not even Naumann himself had consulted this obscure periodical. 



Temminck's name tinmmcuhides (1820) is the oldest certainly appU- 

 cable to the Lesser Kestrel, Those who cannot bring themselves to use 

 this word in connexion with the generic name Tinnimculus can take 

 Naumann's title Cenchris. — Ed.]. 



