FALCONING. 85 



centre tail feathers barred black, the others with eight or nine ru- 

 fous bars on their inner webs ; throat and neck fulvous white ; the 

 rest beneath deep ferruginous, palest on the breast, with medial 

 brown spots on the feathers. 



Adult, dark slaty blue above, black on the cheeks and ears ; be- 

 neath deep rusty red, unspotted; cere, orbitar, skin, and legs reddish 

 yellow ; bill plumbeous. 



Tail short, nearly square ; wings very long, exceeding the tail ; 

 feet large. Length of a male 10| inches; wing 9 ; tail 4|. 



This little Falcon is chiefly an inhabitant of the Himalayas, a 

 few only visiting the plains during the cold weather, and not ex- 

 tendino; their mio-rations far South. I have never met with it in 

 the South of India, but procured it at Darjeeling. It appears to 

 be spread over the Eastern parts of Southern Asia, having been 

 procured in Java, the Philippines, and the ]\Ialayan Peninsula. 

 Mr. Blyth has obtained several specimens from the vicinity of Cal- 

 cutta. It is said to breed on trees. 



F. Frontatus, Gould, is a nearly allied species of Hobby from 

 Australia. 



IMehlins. 



15. Hypotriorchis (Esalon, Gmel. 



Falco, apud Gmelix— F. litliofaico, Auct. — Blyth, Cat. 75 — 

 HoESF., Cat 28— P. E. 447— Gould, Birds of Europe, pi. 24. 



The Merlin. 



Descr. — The young bird has the head rufous, with dark streaks ; 

 the rest of the plumage above brown, tinged grey, with dark shafts, 

 and pale rufous edges ; quills dark brown ; tail ashy brown, barrtd 

 with rufous : the chin is white, the rest of the plumage beneath 

 pale ochry white, with broad brown marks, reduced to lines on the 

 thighs and under tail coverts. 



The adult has the upper plumage fine blackish grey, darkest on 

 the crown, and reddish, mixed with white, on the nape ; cars yellow- 

 ish grey ; quills blackish brown ; tail grey, Avith a broad black 

 band white-tipped at the end : chin and throat white ; the same 

 tinged with ochry on the breast, and with reddish orange on the 

 abdomen, with dark brown spots. The female is said to be browner 



