426 Mr. J, H. Gurney's Notes on 



Dr. Horsfield^ in the article on " Falco limnaetus," in his 

 * Zoological Researches in Java/ writes thus, — "Both the testi- 

 mony of the natives and the remarks I personally made on the 

 manners of our bird have fully convinced me that F. niveus 

 is a species distinct from F. limnaetus." The same view was 

 taken by Dr. Bernstein, who also resided for some years in 

 Java, and the substance of whose remarks on this subject, 

 extracted from his article in vol. viii. of the ' Journal fiir 

 Ornithologie ' (pp. 419-425), I here subjoin: — "It is cer- 

 tainly not to be deaied that there is not any difference be- 

 tween the measurements of F. niveus and F. limnaetus, and 

 that very dusky-coloured individuals of F. niveus occur which 

 seem to form the transition from that species to F. limnaetus. 

 Nevertheless, having shot numerous individuals and compared 

 them anatomically, having observed others at the nest, taken 

 the young from it, reared and kept them for years, I cannot 

 do otherwise than express myself against the identity of the 

 two species. I have found the nest of i^. limnaetus nine times, 

 and observed the old ones at it ; both always belonged to the 

 same species : the young are at first covered with fine white 

 down, between which, here and there, the brown feathers of 

 the perfect plumage begin to appear; and three which I brought 

 up corresponded perfectly with the old ones. The nest of F, 

 niveus I found four times ; and two of these contained a single 

 half-fledged young bird, both of which I took and reared : 

 in their first plumage the throat was pure white, but with 

 three more or less distinct dusky streaks (wliich are also per- 

 ceptible on the throat of F. limnaetus) . The breast and abdo- 

 men are also white, but with large blackish brown longitudinal 

 spots, whilst the thighs have rather lighter narrow transverse 

 streaks ; the feathers of the head and nape are dirty white, 

 assuming a brownish hue towards the tip, and with blackish 

 brown shaft-marks ; the feathers of the back and scapulars 

 are grey-brown, darker towards the tip, and lighter, and ulti- 

 mately white, towards the base ; the quill-feathers are brown, 

 with lighter transverse bars, and the rectrices similar but 

 paler : with increasing age the dusky shaft-marks on the 

 head, neck, and breast seem gradually to disappear till these 



