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quite as strong, bill, feet and claws, and, like it, has the tarsus 
further feathered than in the common Indian Kite. The tail 
The whole of the wing lining and axillaries (except a few of the greater 
lower primary coverts which are greyish black,) rich purplish umber brown, 
tipped with rufous buff, or with a stripe of that color running a short dis- 
tance up the shafts from the tips. There is more white on the inner webs 
of the quills, and the white is purer, in this stage, than in the adult; in this 
respect, again, corresponding with Milvus melanotis. 
3rd Nestling.—Obtained near Mussourie. Male. Measurements from the 
skin. Length 24; wing 19°5; tail 11°5; tarsus 2°4; mid toe, 1°65; its claw, 
straight, 0°61; hind toe, 0°70; its claw, straight, 0°80; inner toe, 0°75; its 
claw, straight, 0°78, Bill, straight from margin of cere to point, 1:07; 
from gape, 1'8; height at front at margin of cere, 0°55; length of cere, 
on culmen, 0°41. Lower tail coverts fall short of end of tail by 4°5. Quill 
and tail feathers very much abraded. 
Description. Plumage—The general character of the plumage is a 
mixture of rufous, slightly infuscated, and pale fulvous and fulvous white ; 
only the primaries, secondaries and some of the greater coverts being dark in 
their visible portions. The whole chin and throat, cheeks, and basal halves 
of the ear coverts, and generally the under parts, pale fulvous, or dingy 
yellowish white, the feathers of the breast and abdomen, much tinged towards 
the sides of the feathers with a slightly brownish or infuscated rufous ; the 
axillaries, and the wing lining in the neighbourhood of the shoulder joint, 
bright cinnamon rufous, infuscated towards the margins ; the rest of the 
wing lining, (except the greater lower primary coverts which are mingled 
blackish grey, and rufous white,) a rich rufous umber brown, tipped and 
tinged towards the tips with cinnamon rufous. Almost the whole of the 
inner webs of the primaries, above the notches, are pure white in this stage. 
The lores and forehead are fulyous white. There is a broad, rufous brown 
stripe from the posterior angle of the eye, over the tips of the ear-coverts. 
The crown, occiput and nape, brownish rufous, dark-shafted and the feathers 
margined with yellowish white or pale fulvous; sides and back of the neck 
and upper back, yellowish white, the feathers, broadly freckled towards the 
margins with brownish rufous. Lower back and rump, rufous, the feathers 
dark shafted, tipped paler (almost white in the longer upper tail coverts) and 
more or less freckled or suffused with greyish brown; the visible portion of 
the scapulars and tertiaries, a sort of rufous buff, freckled or suffused with 
greyish brown, tipped paler and with conspicuous dark shafts. ‘Tail feathers, 
dull, greyish rufous, with traces of 8 or 9, incomplete, irregular, narrow, 
clouded, transverse, umber brown bars. ‘The lateral tail feathers being less 
rufous, and their inner webs paler, and towards the bases almost white, but 
even there, tinged with rufous grey. The visible portion of the lesser and 
median coverts dingy rufous buff, fading towards the tips, to very pale yellow- 
ish or almost pure white. The basal portions of the feathers, umber brown in 
the median coverts, and more or less freckled with this color in the lesser 
ones. The greater primary coverts and first five primaries, deep brown, 
tinged at the tips with rufous and very narrowly tipped with almost pure 
white; the greater secondary coverts pale umber brown, tinged towards the 
tips and freckled and mottled towards the margins, with rufous buff, and 
tipped more or less broadly with very pale yellowish white. The 7th and 
succeeding primaries, the visible portions, rufous buff narrowly tipped with 
white, and clouded in obseure bars with purplish brown. Secondaries the 
richest purple brown, narrowly tipped with rufous buff, fading at the extreme 
tip to pale yellowish white. 
