306 African Zoology, 
vanes hoary, the inner ones nearly white,and both, towards tips, 
crossed by a broad blackish band; upper tail coverts white, 
under ones black, some of them narrowly tipt with white. Tail 
above black, with four transverse bands of dark bluish grey, 
and the tips of all the feathers greyish white; the vanes close 
to quills pure silky white. Legs and toes yellow; claws black. 
Length from bill to base of tail ten inches; length of latter nine 
inches and a half. 
Young.—Front blackish brown ; crown and part of nape light 
rufous, variegated with brownish black streaks or clouds ; back 
of neck an uniform brownish black, feathers broadly tipt with 
pale rufous or tawny white; chin, throat, breast, and belly, tawny 
rufous; the two first with brownish streaks or spots, the third 
clouded by brownish blotches, and the last slightly marked by 
longitudinal brown streaks. Quill feathers with the grey less 
clear, and the tips of the feathers tawny white. Tail blackish 
brown, with three distinct white transverse bands, and the bases 
and tips of all the feathers white. Legs and toes dirty yellow. 
Inhabits South Africa. 
Circus Swainsonii, Smith. Front and eyebrows white ; upper 
parts ashy grey ; the tail coverts faintly banded with brown ; 
under parts and insides of shoulders pure white Primary and 
secondary wing coverts grey, faintly tipt with white; quill 
feathers towards points brown black, outer vanes towards quills 
grey, inner vanes white. ‘Tail rounded, the centre feathers 
brown-grey with four or five broad, dark brown bands ; lateral 
feathers pale fulvous or tawny white, banded irregularly with 
dark brown; the tips of all the feathers white. Bill black 
with a faint yellow mark on the edges of both upper and lower 
mandible towards base; cere, legs, and toes yellow; claws 
black. Length seventeen inches and a half. 
Young.—F ront and eyebrows whitish ; top of head and back 
of neck pale rufous, variegated with longitudinal dark brown 
stripes ; back and shoulders dull brown, the feathers margined 
with rufous; upper tail coverts white ; chin whitish; under 
parts pale fulvous, darkest on the throat and breast ; many of 
the feathers with a dark rufous brown stripe in the course of 
the shaft. Outer tail feathers banded pale fulvous and dark 
brown. 
Inhabits South Africa. 
Circus superciliaris, Smith. South African Quarterly Journal, 
vol. 1. p. 385. (the young.) 
Circus Le Vaillantii, Smith. Bill black; base of lower 
mandible yellow. Front, chin, nape, cervix, and part of breast, 
white or rufous white; the feathers of the neck and nape each 
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