of North- Eastern Africa. 73 



One of the natives killed a specimen of Melierax in the year 

 1853-1854, on the upper Bahr el Abiad, between 6° and 7° 

 N.lat. His attention had been directed to the bii'd by its habits 

 being very different from those of M. polyzonus. Although its 

 general form was extremely similar to that of the species named, 

 and to that of M. musicus, a more accurate comparison appeared 

 to be necessary, and considerable differences were soon disco- 

 vered. Not venturing, however, to found a new species on my 

 sole authority, I have sent the unique specimen to Dr. Hartlaub 

 of Bremen, who declares it certainly to be a good and new 

 species, and I therefore hasten to make it known. 



Comparing this bird with M. polyzonus and M. musicus, we 

 observe that the head and ocular region are of the same colour, 

 whilst the latter is black in the two other species ; the transverse 

 streaks on the belly and on the upper and lower coverts of the 

 tail are broader and more intense ; the upper and inner (not 

 lower) surfaces of the fore-arm are not variegated with white ; 

 there are more numerous and more intensely coloured transverse 

 bands on the tail ; the pure white extremities of the rectrices are 

 less broad ; there are four or five white, somewhat greyish- 

 dotted cross-bands on the third rectrix, besides the white spot on 

 the extremity. The hind-toe with nail is more than 2 lines 

 longer than in M. polyzonus, male. The lateral upper coverts of 

 the tail are not white as in F. musicus, but transversely striated 

 as in M. polyzonus. The tarsus is 2 inches long, from the end 

 of the feathers to the base of the toes. 



I am not able to give any details concerning the habits and 

 distribution of this species. Perhaps it is not rare on the Bahr 

 el Abiad, but generally confounded with M. polyzonus. 



Melierax polyzonus (a species very distinct from M. mu- 

 sicus) lives in North-Eastern Africa, from 17° or 16° N. lat. 

 southwards, in the southern parts of Nubia, in Kordofan, Taka, 

 Sennaar, Abyssinia, and in the Somali country. It is by no 

 means a rare bird (except in the higher mountainous parts), 

 not shy, and easily tamed. I found an apparently new nest in 

 February 1857, in the Bajada Desert, on a high, thickly-leaved 

 Mimosa. It was necessary to make a great noise in order to 

 induce the bird to leave the nest, and we had then no time to 



