Birds from British East Africa and Uganda. 243 



[Irides bright yellow ; bill, upper mandible dark horn 

 at tip, slate at base, lower dark born at lip, slate at base; 

 cere yellow ; legs and toes yellow, claws black.] 



106. Buteo augur. Angnr Buzzard. 



Buteo amjur Riipp. Neue Wirb. Vog. 1835, p. 38, pi. xvi. : 

 Abyssinia. 



a. $ imm. Kijabe, 6300 ft. Sept. 24. 



h. ? ad. Mau, 6900 ft. Sept. 30. 



c, d. ? ad. & imm, Loita, 6600 ft. Oct. 5. 



Total length in flesh : $ 21 1 inches ; ? 21 1 & 21 inches. 

 Wing : $ 405 mm.; ? 438 & 431 mm. Weight of imma- 

 ture : 2i lbs. 



The forty specimens of this Buzzard now before me do not 

 enlighten the bewildering plumage changes through which 

 this bird appears to go. We have seven distinct plumages, 

 some of wiiich seem to have nothing to do with each other, 

 so that it would almost appear that there is more than one 

 species. 



The seven dresses are as follows : — 



(1) 1st dress (as shown by half-fledged nestling). 



General colour russet-brown, darker on back, 

 lighter below, blobbed or streaked. Tail barred, 

 sooty, or slightly chestnut. 



(2) 2nd dress (as shown by specimens moulting from 



above). Black above, white below^ throat black, 



tail chestnut. 

 These two stages seem obvious and clear, but beyond this 

 point no progress seems possible. 

 The other five plumages are : — 



(3) Apparently a first dress. General colour sooty- 



brown above and below. Tail sooty^ barred or 

 quite plain, 



(4) Apparently an immature dress. Above black with 



some chestnut, throat and upper chest white with 

 some black markings and somewhat washed with 

 chestnut, rest of underparts pure chestnut ; tail 

 chestnut. 



