84 FALCONID^E. 



coverfs pale yellowisli brown, the feathers tipped darker ; the hower 

 tail-coverts dingy white, broadly tipped with brown, which in tlie longer 

 ones is a dark hair-brown; in the shorter a dull yellowish brown; 

 wing lining a sort o-f umber brown, the bases of all tke feathers paler, 

 some of them fawn coloured and some white. 



Female. — The legs, feet, cere and gape a sort of brownish yellow; 

 the upper mandible and claws blackish horny ; the tip of the lower 

 mandible yellowish boray ; the whole of the head, nape, sides of the 

 neck, cheeks, chin and throat pale yellowish brown ; the feathers 

 white, tipped with yellowish brown, which, owing to the feathers being 

 closely set, is the predoffiinaut colour, especially on the top of the head ; 

 the ear-coverts a darker brown ; the whole of the back of the neck, 

 back, rump and upper tail-coverts, breast, sides, abdomen, vent, and 

 lower tail-coverts white, comparatively narrowly tipped with yellowish 

 brown, and many of the feathei's, with a narrow, linear, ovate, hair- 

 brown shaft-spot near the tip. As in the male, the upper tail-coverts 

 are ovate-lanceolate, very broad and long, and I'each to within less 

 than six inches of the end of the long wedge-shaped tail ; most of the 

 scapulars and the tail feathers are a mixture of dull dark and pale 

 dingy yellowish brown, everywhere mottled and freckled with dirty white, 

 which occupies almost the whole of the inner webs of the lateral tail 

 feathers ; the wing-covei^ts, except the greater primary coverts, are wood 

 brown^ showing little or nothing of the white bases ; most of the 

 tertiaries are mottled white and dingy yellowish brown, like the tail ; 

 the secondaries are a dull, slightly rufous brown, much mottled on the 

 interior webs with white, and the primaries are dark chocolate brown, 

 greyish above the emarginations ; some of the primary greater coverts 

 are dark chocolate brown and others are a pale rufous brown. {Sir. F, 

 vii. 341). 



The following is McGillivray's description, quoted in Stray FeatJiers : — 



Male. — 'The cere and bill are pale yellow ; the iris bright yellow ; 

 the tai'si and toes gamboge; the claws black with a tinge of greyish blue ; 

 the plumage of the head, neck, forepart of the back and breast with 

 the upper wing-coverts, greyish yellow ; the feathers all greyish brown 

 at the base ; of the other parts greyish brown, edged with yellowish 

 grey ; scapulars and feathers of the rump glossed with purple ; those of 

 the abdomen, tibia and snbcaudal region inclining to chocolate brown ; 

 the quills and alular feathers brownish black, with a tinge of grey ; 

 the inner secondaries inclining to chocolate brown ; the shafts of all 

 white towards the base ; the lower surface of the quills, and the large 

 coverts tinged with greyish blue ; the upper tail-coverts and the tail are 

 white (generally freckled with dusky grey at the base); the down on 

 the breast pale grey, that on the sides darker. 



Lev(jih, to end of tail 36 inches, extent of wing 72 inches, bill along 

 the ridge 3'41, along the edge of lower mandible 3, its height r41, 

 wing from flexure 24 inches, tail 11'4, tarsus 4. 



The female does not differ from the male in colour, and her su- 

 periority in size is often not very remarkable. LengtJi, to end of tail 40 



