118 A Description of the Birds 
the mature or young plumage be detailed, as a variety of 
circumstances concur to induce me to believe that both are 
examples of a plumage ina middle stage, only; that of the one 
being at least a year older than that of the other. Of the 
four individuals which I have hadan opportunity of examining, 
two were killed at the Heer Logement, near the Oliphants 
River, one near Cape Town, and the other some where in the 
interior At the former of those situations this bird is by no 
means rare, but on account of its great shyness 1s with diffi- 
culty obtained. It retreats upon the approach of evening 
towards the higher parts of the mountains, and perches during 
the night upon the branches of old and decayed trees. Inthe 
day it resorts to the plains in search of food, and in its pro- 
gress through the air it commonly soars, is circles, and at a 
great height, whereby it is almost impossible to destroy it 
while on the wing. In consideration of its form and general 
character, I have placed it for the present in the Genus Mor- 
phinus, though I am not quite convinced but that a more 
extensive opportunity of studying and comparing its charac- 
ters, habits, and anatomical structure, will point out its 
affinity and position to be elsewhere. It is a species, there- 
fore, which I should particularly recommend to the observa- 
tion of the colonists, and specimens of it in different ages 
would be most acceptable, more particularly the young as 
found in the nest. 
Genus. CYMINDIS*. Cuvier. 
Rostrum supra converum; || Beak convexabove; nostrils 
. ae | : 
nares subclausi, rimiformes. || nearly closed, and resembling 
Tarsi breves ; digiti scmi-pal- | acleft. Tarsishort; toes half- 
mati. ! webbed. 
CYMINDIS BACHA. 
Buteo Bacha, Cuv. Reg. Animal, 1, p. 324.—Falco Bacha, 
Shaw, 7, p. 157.—La Bacha, Le Vaillant, Ois. Afr. pl. 15. 
C. obscwro-fuscus aut nigricans ; humeris, abdomine et cruri- 
bus albo notatis ; tectricibus inferioribus caude albo lineatis ; 
crista occipitali nigra albo fasciata ; cauda fascia alba. 
Male.—* Bill lead colored; cere and bare space between 
beak and eyes yellow ; eyes a deep brownish red ; head black, 
variegated with white; hindhead crested ; the feathers black 
at their tips, and white elsewhere; plumage above earthy 
brown or blackish brown, lightest on the wings and shoulders ; 
beneath the same hue, only less deep, and from the breast to 
the legs the feathers are spotted with white, as are also those 
on thighs and shoulders; the hinder part of abdomen and vent 
* Shaw’s Zoology, vol. 13, p. 21. 
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