242 Mr. C. H. B. Grant on a Collection of 



\_Ad. Irides red ; b'll black, bluisli at base ; cete yellow ; 

 eyelids yellow ; le^ and toes yellow. Imm. Similar, except 

 iridi'S yellow. Tolerably common. The adult female from 

 the Weiwei River was shot whilst eating a dove. Stomach 

 contained a lizard.] 



lOi. Accipiter minullns. Little Sparrow-Hawk. 



Falco miaallus Daud. Traite, vol. ii. 1800, p. 88: Gamtoos 

 River, Cape Colony. 



a, h. S ad., ? imm. 8. Guaso Nyiro, 2900 ft. Nov. 23. 



Total length in flesh : cJ 9 j inches ; ? II inches. Wing: 

 c? 140 mm. ; ? 154 mm. 



The male is in fresh new dress and the female is assuming 

 the adult dress. 



I have carefully examined and compared birds from east 

 and south Africa, and cannot with the series before me see 

 any constant difference in colour or size between them. 



Certainly, in freshly moulted birds, some southern ex- 

 amples are darker than east African specimens, whilst others 

 are equally as light ; and when it comes to faded browner 

 specimens I cannot distinguish between them. 



Perhaps a much larger series may show that A. m. tro- 

 picalis Reichenow (J. f. O. 1898, p. 139 : East Africa) 

 is a valid subspecies, though Prof. Reichenow's rather 

 comprehensive type-locality needs greater precision. 



[^Ad. Irides reddish yellow ; bill black, cere yellow ; 

 legs and toes yellow. Imm. Irides rich yellow ; cere 

 greenish yellow. This pair were found together in thick 

 bush.] 



105. Accipiter ruflventris. African Sparrow-Hawk. 



Accipiter ruflventris A. Smith, S. A. Q. Journ. 1830, 

 pp. 231 &, 392: Baviaans River, nr. Uniondale, Cape Colony. 



a. S ad. Kikuyu, 6000 ft. Sept. 22. 



Total length in flesh : 14^ inches. Wing : 225 mm. 



In quite good dress and agreeing well with specimens 

 from southern Africa. 



Though sexed a male, the large size of this specimen seems 

 to point to it being a female. 



