inhabiting the South of Africa. ~ 109 
Genus. CIRCAIETUS.  Vierllot. 
Rostrum supra conveeum; | Beak above convex; nostrils 
nares lunulate; ceroma subhis- | lunulated ; ceroma subhispid. 
pidum. Tarsi elongati, nudi; | Tarsi elongated, naked ; acro- 
acrotarsia reticulata.  Digiti | tarsiareticulated. Toes short ; 
breves ; externus cum medio ad | the outer connected atthe base 
basin connexus ; ungues breves | tothe middle one; claws stout, 
subeequales. | nearly equal. 
CIRCHETUS PECTORALIS. 
C. nigro-fuscus aut niger, guttere et pectore nigris, abdo- 
mine, crisso; et cruribus albis; cauda factis transversis nigris 
que albidis striata; Iridibis flavis ; tarsis subalbidis, wnguibus 
rostroque subnigris. 
Male.—Bill dark horn colored; eyes fine yellow; head, 
together with the back and sides of neck blackish brown, 
the former often with a slight tinge of gray; imterscapulars, 
back, tail coverts, and shoulders blackish brown, each feather 
more or less distinctly tipt with a dusky or pure white ; 
throat variegated black and white; breast pure black or 
brownish black; belly, under tail coverts, and thighs pure 
white. Primary quill feathers black, with the exception of 
the greater portion of the inner vane of each towards its base, 
which is white; secondaries marked by transverse black and 
grayish, or grayish white bands, and distinctly tipt with 
white. Tail nearly even and composed of twelve feathers, 
each of which has, or may be said to have, white or gray 
and white as the ground color, and to be crossed more or less 
completely by three broad black bands. When the two colors 
first mentioned occur in the same specimen, the gray occu- 
pies only the outer vanes towards the tips, and sometimes a 
little of the inner ones near the shafts, whilst the white 
appears in all other situations. When viewed below the 
whole ground color appears a pure white, and the three 
transverse bands a dusky black. Legs and toes livid white, 
with a tint of greenish; claws black. Length from bill to 
base of tail fourteen inches; length of tail nine inches and 
a half. 
Female.—In point of color the male and female are nearly 
alike, but the latter is always considerably larger than the 
former. 
Young.— When it leaves the egg it is covered with a dense 
white down, which, after a few months, is concealed by an 
uniform light chesnut or a dull earthy brown plumage*. The 
* I have met with young specimens of this species of both colors, which 
might pussibly have been different sexes, 
r15] 
