inhabiting the South of Africa. 391 
clear, the female, in most other respects, resembles the male ; 
and there is not the great difference in size that occurs in 
many others of the family. 
Young.—Bill black towards tip, ight horn-colored at base ; 
cere yellowish; irides brown ; head and neck brown, with all 
the feathers broadly tipt with reddish white or tawny yellow; 
black brown, with the feathers tipt with tawny yellow or pale 
rufous ; shoulders varied brown and tawny, with a longitudi- 
nal blackish streak along the centre of each feather; chin 
with longitudinal streaks of black and dirty tawny; breast 
with the feathers black in their centres, then tawny, and on 
the edges dirty rufous, the tips are also tawny ; under tail 
coverts light tawny rufous; thighs with the centres of the 
feathers light brown, and the edges somewhat rufous. Pri- 
mary and secondary wing coverts dark brown, tipt with tawny ; 
primary wing feathers black, and the inner edges of inner 
vanes near quills much mottled with white, tips tawny rufous ; 
secondaries blackish brown, indistinctly banded with dusky 
black, and all tipt with tawny. Tail grayish brown, with nine 
or ten blackish oblique transverse bands, and each feather 
broadly tipt with tawny ; below the colors appear black and 
grayish white ; legs and toes dull yellow ; claws black. When 
it leaves the egg it is covered with a grayish down. 
It feeds upon young chickens and other small birds, as well 
as carrion, and in search of such it evinces much courage, 
sometimes carrying them away from almost the very doors of 
farm-houses. It belongs to the migrating class of birds, and only 
spends the hot months of the summerin South Africa. During 
that period it is found very generally distributed over the 
whole colony, as well as over the country both to the north- 
ward and eastward of it, and usually resorts daily to the 
neighbourhood of inhabited places between the hours of ten 
and four. It breeds during its temporary residence; and 
“builds its nest commonly upon trees or rocks, but, when 
possible, prefers bushes in the neighbourhood of marshes, and 
lays four eggs spotted with reddish.” 
Obs.—Though Temminck has set this bird down as identi- 
cal with the European species, yet I have no hesitation in 
viewing it as quite distinct. The bill of the South African 
bird is invariable fine yellow, and that, with many other less 
evident differences, which will, doubtless, be more clearly 
discovered by persons who possess good opportunities of com- 
paring specimens of both countries, appears to me to warrant 
the conclusion. 
[55] 
