82 Mr. B. C. R. Langford on the South African 



ornithologist; it would be far better to name them after the 

 country, province, or district they come from. Let me 

 express a Lope that it will be a long time before the Members 

 of this Union worry themselves about these matters 

 (although I see signs of it already). But, as very little has 

 yet been recorded of the habits and distribution of South 

 African birds, I would suggest that every Member should 

 contribute to the Journal a list of all the birds found in his 

 district, with full field-notes on habits, nidification, &c., 

 from his own personal observation. 



XI. — The South African Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicns) 



and its Congeners. By B. C R. Langford. 



(Plate.) 



The typical Lanner {F. lanarius *), of which F. biarmicus 

 is the South African representative, may be said to have 

 been rediscovered in comparatively recent times. 



Though well known to, and sufficiently accurately 

 described by, the old writers on Falconry, it was lost sight 

 of on the decline of that art, and naturalists either denied its 

 existence as a distinct species or wrongly attributed the 

 name to other members of the genus. Thus, the Lanner of 

 Linuceus and Nilsson is the Norway Gerfalcon (7". gyrfalco). 

 Briinnich and Mohr under the name of Lanner describe the 

 Merlin [F. a'salon). Pennant's Lanner is an immature 

 Peregrine, whilst the young Peregrine figured by Buffon is 

 in reality a young Lanner. 



In 1829 M. Feldegg found the Lanner (F. lunaj'ius) in 

 Dalmatia, and it was considered by Natterer to bo the 

 /''. peregrinoides of Temminck. Scldegel, on examining 

 Feldegg's s{)ccimens, perceived Natterer's error, but 

 believing it to bo a new species named it feldef/r/il f. Jiuter, 

 however, when preparing his magnificent folio work on 



* Lanarius" qwod pliimas multafl, densasqiie et moUcs in luuiluiii luiiic 

 habet." 



t Abh. aus dem Gebiete der Zoologie, etc. labb. ]0 &. 1 J. 



