^6 FALCONID^. 



Adult Male. — Above bluisli grey, paler on the rump and upper tail- 

 coverts, and barred with blackish. Head, neck, upper part of mantle 

 and wing-coverts blackish, with grey barring more or less indistinct 

 on the latter. Cheeks, ear-coverts, and a short moustachial band 

 blackish. Forehead, sides of neck, chin, throat, under surface of body 

 and breast white, the latter with a tinge of pale fawn, as also the 

 lower abdomen ; the chest with a few narrow black shaft-stripes 

 almost disappearing in old individuals ; abdomen with some small heart- 

 shaped spots, some similar marks on the under-tail coverts also. 

 Thighs transversely barred with nari'ow black lines. Quills brownish 

 black, primaries slightly shaded with greyish, the secondaries clearer 

 grey, crossed by dull blackish bars, the smaller median quills tipped 

 white. Tail feathers greyish, broadly barred with black and tipped 

 with white. Bill bluish, black at the tip ; cere, legs and feet yellow ; 

 claws black ; iris hazel-brown. 



Length. — 15 to 16 inches, culmen 1'2, wing 12'2 to 12*7, tail 6-5 

 {Adult female similar to the adult male, but larger; length, 17 to 19, 

 culmen 135, wing 1'1"5, tail 7*5, tarsus 2'o. ) 



The young bird is brown, all the feathers edged with pale buff 

 shading into whitish ; under surface of the body whitish, the throat 

 unspotted, all the rest of the feathers dark brown in the centre, lower 

 flanks barred ; head more edged with whitish ; cheek stripe brown. 

 Wings darker than the back ; the inner webs spotted or barred with 

 rufous. Tail feathers brown, broadly tipped with white ; the outer 

 web spotted and the inner one barred with pale rufous more or less 

 distinct. 



Hab. — Nearly throughout India, Europe, Nepaul and Persia. A 

 winter visitant to the Province, arriving about the middle of November 

 and leaving at the latter end of January. 



Falco saker, Om. Syst. N. i, p. 273; Tristram, Ibis, 1859, 

 p. 284; Jerd. B. of India, vol. i, p. 29; Hume, 8tr. F., vol. i. p. 152; 

 Hough Notes, i, p. 62. Hierofalco saker, Sharpe, Cat. Ace. Br. 

 Mus. i, p. 417 ; Mvrray, Edhk., Zool., &c., tSind. F. lanarius, Pall. Zoog. 

 Hosso- As., Yol. i, p. 330 ; J. E. Gray, Gat. Mam. and Birds, Nepaidj^p. 43. 

 Cherrug Hind, (female), Ghargela (male), Hind. — The Cheerug Falcon. 



Adult Male. — Above pale earthy or slaty brown ; all the feathers mar- 

 gined with rufous. Head pale rufous, reddish ash or bleached nearly 

 white; the feathers with narrow mesial streaks. Chin, throat, abdo- 

 men, and under tail-covei-ts white ; cheek stripe indistinct; breast and 

 lower parts white, with oblong slaty spots, more thickly on the breast 

 and flanks ; quills brown, deeply indented with white or rufous-white 

 notches or bars, less in number on the secondaries ; tail pale brown, 

 barred with whitish on the inner web, and ovally spotted on the outer. 

 Thighs streaked with brown. Under wing-coverts and axillaries white, 

 streaked with brown ; cere greenish white ; orbits and feet yellow. 



Length. — 18 to 18*5 inches, wing 12*5 to 13'2, tail 7*3 to 7*5, culmen 

 1'2, tarsus 2; Female, 20 to 24 inches, wing 14 to 15"8, culmen 1-3, 

 wing 15-8, tail 9"8, tarsus 2-1. 



