Jhe £mu 



®ffinal dDr^an oi the .^xistralasian ODniithoIogieta' ^ition. 



" Bir«Is of a feather." 



Vol. IV.] 1ST JULY, 1904. [Part i. 



Description of a New Kestrel from Western 

 Australia. 



By Alex. Wm. Milligan 



{Hon. Ornithologist , Perth Museum, W.A.) 



I HAVE great pleasure in adding what I consider a new Kestrel 

 to the list of Australian species. The bird was captured alive 

 some weeks ago at Yalgoo, in the north-western portion of this 

 State (where it is said to be a very common form), and sent 

 to the Western Australian Zoological Gardens, Perth. The 

 Director, Mr. Ernest Le Souef, and the head keeper of the 

 Gardens, Mr. Giles, were, on its arrival at the Gardens, at once 

 struck with its diminutive form and general rufous colouration 

 as compared with living forms of Cerchneis cenchroides (Vig. 

 and Hors.) which they had in the Gardens. 



The new bird differs from the common form in not possessing 

 any white or pale feathers on the under parts of the body, those 

 parts being a decided cinnamon-pink and making it very dis- 

 tinctive. In addition, the tail is not grey, but rusty-cinnamon, 

 and the legs pea-green and not orange-yellow. It also is much 

 smaller. 



The following is a specific description of an adult male : — 



The whole of the upper surface is deep rusty-cinnamon, the 

 crown and neck feathers with longitudinal black striations, 

 the mantle with black arrow-heads sparsely distributed, the wing 

 coverts and secondaries with narrow black crescentic markings. 

 Tail feathers (rusty-cinnamon, not grey) with black transverse 

 bars, subterminal black band, and whitish tips. Whole of under 

 surface, including under surface of wings, cinnamon-pink, paler 

 than the upper surface, with a few feathers of the breast striated 

 with sepia. Ear coverts inclining to greyish-brown. Narrow 

 circle of feathers above eye, and a tuft below eye, blackish-brown. 

 Culmen light reddish-blue ; cere light blue, with yellowish tinge ; 

 eyes and feet pea-green. 



Type in Western Australian Museum, Perth. 



Owing to the partiality of the bird for young chickens, it is 

 known locally as the " Chicken-Hawk." As a consequence 

 poultry-owners wage a ruthless war with members of the species. 



