103 
and obscure white margin to the outer web, and a trace of this 
is also at times visible on the 2nd exterior, while all but the 
centre feathers are more or less whitish towards the margins of 
the inner webs. 
The lores are white, thickly overlaid by fine, dark brown, 
hair-like feathers. There isa trace of a narrow brown stripe over 
the back of eye and ear-coverts ; ear-coverts lax, mingled white 
(with or without a faint rufous tinge) brown or dusky ; a brown 
cheek stripe, not very conspicuous, from the eye, past the gape, 
on either sides of the upper throat, with commonly a branch from 
the base of the lower mandible just below the gape.. Chin white 
Upper throat unspotted rufous white, or pure white; sides of 
neck below ear coverts, front of neck, breast and upper abdo- 
men, pale rufous or nearly pure white, most of the feathers with 
narrow central dark brown stripes, most conspicuous on sides of 
neck and body (where the stripes are dilated towards the tips 
of the feathers into broadish blotches) and least so on the upper 
abdomen, where they become mere specks at the tips of dark 
shafted feathers. Lower abdomen, vent, lower tail, and thigh 
coverts white or very pale rufous white, dingy about lower tail 
coverts and vent, at times with two or three minute dark brown 
specks on the thigh coverts. Axillaries white, barred with 
brown ; lesser lower wing coverts pure white, with tiny oval sub- 
terminal spots of dark brown. Larger lower wing coverts also 
pure white, with subterminal heart-shaped spots of dark brown, 
and most of them, chiefly those of the secondaries however, with 
more or less incomplete bars of a somewhat lighter brown. On 
the under surfaces of the quills and tail feathers, the markings 
described on the upper surfaces show through. 
No. 18. HKrythropus Cenchris, Naumany. 
Tue Lesser Kestrret. 
Dr. Jerdon tells us that he found this Falcon breeding on 
cliffs of the Neilgherries in May and June, and I regret to say 
a this is the extent of my information as to its breeeding in 
ndia. 
In Greece, Sicily, Palestine, &c., it breeds gregariously, laying 
three, four, or occasionally five eggs, in clefts of rocks or ruins, or 
even under the tiles of houses. It makes, it would seem, but little 
or no nest. Degland, quoted by Bree, says that “the eggs 
are three or four in number ; very short, smaller than those of the 
Kestrel : of a reddish white, with a great number of little points 
