270 FALCONID^ FALCO 



Falco chiqueroides, Smith, S. A. Quart. Journ. i, p. 233 (1830). 



Falco cervicalis, Gurney in Andersso7i's B. Damaraland, p. 13 (1872). 



Falco tanypterus {nee Schleg.) Fleck, Journ. Ornith. 1894, p. 393. 



Description. Adult female. — Crown of the head brick-red with 

 black shafts becoming whitish on the fore-part of the forehead ; a 

 stripe across the forehead above the eye and ear-coverts to the sides 

 of the neck, a patch below the eye and a nape spot black ; cheeks 

 and ear-coverts pale rufous ; general colour of the back dark slate, 

 all the feathers except the wing-primaries barred and tipped bluish- 

 grey ; primaries slaty-black, barred on the inner webs with white ; 

 tail with about ten light and ten dark narrow bands tipped with 



Fig. 90. — Falco biarmicus. x i^g. 



white ; below, very pale fawn colour, in quite adult birds unspotted 

 throughout, but in younger individuals with a few spots of dark 

 brown especially on the flanks ; axillaries and under wing-coverts 

 also pale fawn spotted with dark brown. 



Iris brown ; bill horn-coloured at base, blue at tip ; cere and 

 skin round the eye pale yellow ; legs yellow. 



Length 17-0 ; wing 130 to 13-75; tail 6-80; culmen 1-10; 

 tarsus 2-10. 



A male is smaller ; length 16*0 ; wing 11-50 to 12-0. 



The young bird has the black on the head rather more extended ; 

 the upper surface is dark brown with pale rufous edgings to the 

 feathers, the tail is dark brown barred and tipped with pale rufous, 

 under surface pale fawn thickly spotted on the breast and upper 



