258 



FALC<.)NIN.E. 



of the feathers on the nape blackish-brown, with lar,:,'e white bases to the featliers on the hind- 

 necl% ; sides of the head and ear-coverts grey ; chin and upper throat ashy-white, gradually 

 passing into a pale ashy-grey on the foreneck and chest and slightly washed with buff, most of 

 the feathers having narrow blackish shaft-streaks ; remainder of the under surface dull white, 

 slightly washed with bufl^, and narrowly barred with rufous-brown : the centre of the abdomen 

 huffy-white; under tail-co\erts pale buff. Wing i2-y inches. 



In Queensland and New South Wales October and the four following months constitute 

 the usual breeding season of this species. 



OerL"a.s I^-<f^XjOO, Linn. 

 Falco melanogenys. 



BLACK-CHEEKED FALCON. 

 FtiJco mi'hxiwgi'utjs, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1837, p. 139 ; id., Bds. Austr., fol. Vol. I., pi. IS 

 (181r.S) ; id., llandbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. I., p. 2(i (1865) ; Sharpe, Oat. Bds. Brit. Mas., Vol. 

 ]., p. 385 (1874); id., Hand-1. Bds., Vol. I., p, '274 (1899). 



Adult malb. — (Tcw.rid ci>hinr ahun', incJudinij till' ■■iriijiitlar.t aiid secondaries, diiU bhi.ish grey 

 irllh hlacki^h crot<s-hars and sliafls In laosf nf the. p-aihirg, ivliich <irr more distinct mi the r^imp aiid 

 t(/i/ji'r titil-rijrert>:, the bar rings (in- (lie iijiper hack broader.- ii/i/nr ii'iny-corert.i like tlie back, the 

 median series icil/t iiarroir dnll blnisligrey inargiiis, and wliicli are almost entirely lost on the lesser 

 series : remainder of quills black ivitli a greyish ivash on tJie outer irebs of tJte primaries, their inner 

 ivebs barred ivith biij/'y ii:/iite : llie inner primaries and outer srcondaries icilh ivhitisli edges arouml 

 the tip : tail dull bluish-grey unlit blackish cross-bars, the suhterminal one the broadest, the barrings 

 on the central pair broken in the centre, and the ends of all blaish-nslnj-irhite ; forehead, croivn and 

 sides of the head, nape, chreks and ear-corerts black: thrnal pale creamy-buff, passing into deep 

 criatny-biiff on the foreneck ivhere some of the featliers hnre a narrow black central streak : remainder 

 of the under surface creamybuff, richer in colour on tlie centre of the breast, paler oii the sides of 

 the body, abtlomen, thighs and under tail-corerts, irliicli are abashed with grey and crossed witliiiarrow 

 transrerse black lines ; a.cilhtries of a clearer bnjl'y-irliile, rendering tlie slightly broader black cross- 

 bars more distinct : " bill at base hluisli -green, black at the tip; legs and feet yellow; iris, ha~el" 

 (BcnnPtt). Totid length in th'- flesh 15'7'> inches, tving 111!, tail It, bill 1, tarsus 2. 



Adult FBM,\LE. — Ji'es'inbles tin- male but is largrr, irilh less dnll blaisli-grey on the ii.ppir parts, 

 and richer in colour on the under parts, the centre of the breast being of a- rufins-bnjf, and less of a 

 greyish wash to the, sides of the body, abdomen and u,nder tail-cacerts, in some specimens it is entirely 

 ivanting, anrl the blackish, cross-lines are more irregular and broken in the centre of the breast. Winy 

 13 inches. 



Distribniion. — North-western .-\ustralia, Queensland, New South Wales, \'ictoria. South 

 Australia, Western Australia, Islands of Bass Strait, Tasmania. 



OMITTING its extra .\ustralian range, the Black-cheeked Falcon, our most courageous 

 bird of prey, is in favourable situations distributed over the greater portion of the 

 continent, and likewise inhabits the larger Islands of Bass Strait and Tasmania. The late Mr. 

 T. H. Bowyer-Bower procured this species at Derby, and Mr. G. A. Keartland near the 

 junction of the Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers, in North-western Australia. On the opposite side 

 of the continent Mr. Kendal Broadbent observed it on the Upper Fitzroy River, in Central 

 Queensland. Dr. li. P. l^amsay also records it from Fort Denison and Wide Bay. In suitable 

 localities it occurs sparingly throughout the length and breadth of New South Wales, fre(iuenting 

 chiefly the rocky headlands and rugged mountainous districts of the State. The late Captain 



