FALCONIDA:—FALCONS. Oy 
Young in first plumage: Also resemble adult females, 
but are marked with rufous above. 
Distribution : Breeds in the northern portions of Europe 
and Asia, ranging southward to Africa, Northern India and 
Northern China in winter. 
Habitat : Wild open country, frequently on high moors. 
RED-FOOTED FALCON, OR ORANGE- 
LEGGED HOBBY. 
Falco vespertinus zn. 
Adult Male: Most of plumage s/afe-grey, darker above 
and paler on wings; ¢highs, vent and under tatl-coverts rich 
Jerruginous ; bill dark bluish-horn towards tip; base of bill, 
cere, orbits, legs and feet vermilion; irides dark brown. 
Length 10°5 to 11 inches; culmen 0°65 ; zwmg 92 to 10; tail 
5; tarsus I. 
Adult Female: Crown, neck and under parts rufous, 
excepting chin and throat, which are white, tinged with rufous ; 
rest of upper parts slate-grey (darker between shoulders), 
barred transversely with blackish ; wing-quills dusky, washed 
with grey, and marked on inner webs with white spots; a dis- 
tinct black ring round the eyes. Superior in size to the male. 
Young in first plumage: Forehead whitish, shading 
into rufescent on crown, and mixed with white on nape; the 
entire upper part of head more or less streaked with black; rest 
of upper parts dingy slate-grey, the feathers broadly bordered 
with pale rufous; primaries conspicuously margined at their 
tips with white; under parts white, shading into pale buff (or 
entirely pale buff), broadly marked on breast and abdomen 
with brown. 
Male after first moult: Differs from the adult in being 
a uniform pearl-grey with ferruginous thighs and flanks ; outer 
tail-feathers and a few of lower back or wing-feathers barred as 
in first plumage. 
Distribution: Breeds in Central Europe and in Western- 
central Asia, occurring in winter as far south as Damara 
Land in Africa. Of casual occurrence in Great Britain. 
Habitat: Large forests ; groves, or more open country, 
frequently the latter. 
