Nesting of Birth in Fohkien. 55 



egg which was dirty white, with only two or three small 

 stains of pale rust-colour. In some cases the markings are 

 very numerous and rich. 



The behaviour of the parents is very uncertain. In oue 

 instance both old birds had to be shot before it was safe to 

 send a boy up the tree to the nest, which was found to be 

 empty ! In another the old bird slipped off the nest con- 

 taining two downy nestlings and flew away out of sight. 

 At times one parent will attempt to defend the nest, while 

 the other soars about at a distance squealing plaintively. 



A newly hatched bird (covered with hairy down) had 

 the bill dusky blue; the iris dark brown ; the cere, gape, 

 and eyelids pale grey ; the region round the eye and the 

 ear blackish. Loves, forehead, hind-neck, and under parts 

 greyish white; the rest of head silvery grey; the upper part 

 of the body and the wings brownish grey. 



The nest-larder contained a te squab " Dove [Tartar 

 sis). 



Falco subbuteo Linn. 



A common summer-visitor to the plains, arriving in April 

 and leaving in October. 



It breeds in the deserted nests of Crows and Kites. No 

 eggs are laid much before the end of May, and we have 

 taken incubated specimens as late as July. 



The eggs are white, so closely speckled or stippled all over 

 with pale red as to hide the ground-colour ; over this 

 stippling there are at times blotches of darker red or a cap 

 of the same, covering one end or the other of the egg. 

 When newly laid they have a beautiful " bloom/' which is 

 lost as incubation proceeds. La Touche has an egg, taken 

 from the oviduct of a female, which is pure white with a 

 few " shell-marks " of violet-grey. 



Fifteen eggs average L58 x 1'25 in. : the largest 1*70 X 1*28, 

 the smallest 1-50 x 1*1 7. 



The parents attack any large birds, such as Crows and 

 Kites, especially the latter, that pass near the nest-tree. 

 They seem to have a great dislike to Kites, and persecute 



