KESTREL 479 



iiig, however, scarce in southern latitudes, and unknown beyond 

 Fan tee on the west and Mombasa on the east coast (Ills, 1881, p, 

 457). The southern countries of Europe have also another and 

 smaller species of Kestrel, T. tinnuncidoides (the T. cenchris and T. 

 naumanni of some writers), which is widely spread in Africa and 

 Asia, while examples from India and China are distinguished as 

 T. pekinensis. 



Three ^ other species are found in Africa as well — T. rupicola, 

 T. rnpicoloides, and T. alopex — the first of which is a common bird 

 in the Cape Colony, while the others occur in the interior. Some 

 of the islands of the Ethiopian Region have peculiar species of 

 Kestrel, as the T. newtoni of Madagascar, T. pundatus of Mauritius, 

 and T. gracilis of the Seychelles ; while, on the opposite side of the 

 continent, the Kestrel of the Cape Verd Islands has been separated 

 as T. negledus, and that of the Canaries indulged with subsidiary 

 recognition (Konig, Journ. fur Orn. 1890, p. 285, pi. i.) as Cerchneis 

 tinnunculus canariensis. 



The next species deserving of notice is that of America, T. 

 sparverius, commonly known in Canada and the United States as 

 the "Sparrow -Hawk" — a beautiful little bird, though not more 

 courageous than the rest of its relations. Various attempts have 

 been made to recognize several species, more or less in accordance 

 with locality, but the majority of ornithologists seem unable to 

 accept the distinctions elaborated, chiefly by Di\ Sharpe (ut suprd,) 

 and Mr. Ridgway (N.-Am. Birds, iii. pp. 159-175), the former of 

 whom in 1874 recognized six species, while the latter, in the same 

 year, and since, has admitted but three, T. sparverius, T. leucophrys, 

 and T. sparverioides, with five geographical races of the first, viz. the 

 typical T. sparverius from the continent of North America, except 

 the coast of the Gulf of Mexico ; T. australis from the continent of 

 South America, except the North Atlantic and Caribbean coasts ; 

 T. isahellinus, inhabiting continental America from Florida to 

 Cayenne ; T. dominicensis from the Lesser Antilles as far north- 

 wards as St. Thomas ; and lastly T. cinnaraominus from Chili and 

 western Brazil. T. leucophrys is said to be from Hispaniola and 

 Cuba ; and T. sparverioides peculiar to Cuba only. This last has 

 been generally allowed to be a good species, though Dr. Gundlach, 

 the best authority on the birds of that island, in his latest work, 

 published in 1876 {Contribucion d la Ornitologia Cubana, p. 48) 

 would not allow its validity. More recently it was found (Ibis, 

 1881, pp. 547-564) that T. australis and T. cinnanwminus cannot 

 be separated, that Mr. Eidgway's T. leucopjhrys should properly be 

 called T. dominicensis, and his T. dominicensis T. antillarum, while 

 that gentleman has recorded the supposed occurrence of T. spar- 



1 Mr. Gurney's T. arthuri {op. cit. pp. 98 and 156) rests oa a single specimen, 

 and therefore requires confirmation. 



