Dr. Hoisfiekl's Zoological Researches. 129 



lished in the year 1750, from a specimen forwarded to Dr. 

 Mead, from Bengal. It belongs to the Falconine stirps of 

 the family, but is closely allied to the genus Harpagus Vigors, 

 belonging to the preceding Accipitrine group, by the double 

 tooth on its upper mandible, and its short wings. Mr. Vigors 

 has erected it into a genus, by the name of lerax, applied by 

 Aristotle to the greater part of the short-billed Falcofiidce*. 



*' The Falco ccendesceiis, as it occurs in Java," says Dr. 

 Hbrsfield, " has presented to me the following observations. 

 — It has a very robust fabric. The bill has a double notch, 

 which is deeper than iii any other species belonging to the 

 ^Falcones j)yoprie sic dictP ofBechstein that I have examined. 

 The entire length is six inches and a half. Upperparts blueish- 

 black and glossy. Throat, breast, axilla?, sides of the neck, 

 forehead, ■ and a line continued from the environs of the bill 

 over the eye and along the neck, white, with a feri'uginous 

 tint. Lower part of the breast, abdomen, vent, and thighs 

 ferruginous. Hypochondria, thighs posteriori^', and a broad 

 patch extending from the eye along the side of the head, black; 

 the plumes which cover the thighs behind are terminated by 

 long silky filaments, or radii, which are straggling and pen- 

 dulous, and by their laxity and irregularity afford a peculiar 

 character to our bird. This is not noticed by Edwards in 

 the description of the specimen which he delineated. Fi'om 

 the General Zoology it appears that in one specimen, which 

 was considered a male bird, the under parts agreed with the 

 bird as found in Java, excepting the colour and distribution 

 of the plumes just mentioned. In the bird figured by Edwards 

 the under parts were bright orange-yellow, and it exceeded 

 our bird nearly one inch in length. 



" I became acquainted with iheFalco c(crulesccns in the yeai' 

 1806, in the eastern districts of Java : here I obtained a sin- 

 gle mdivldual. I had no o))p6rtunity of observing its man- 

 ners personally, but the natives described it as uncommonly 

 bold in the pursuit of small birds. During the latter period 

 of my abode at Surakarta, several individuals were brought to 

 me from the range of southern hills, which are covered with 

 forests. In other parts of the island I have not observed it." 



F. LimiKFctus. F. fuscus, cauda subtus praeter apicem al- 

 bido-cinerea, tarsis usque ad extremitatem dense plumosis. 

 — Wiim-ravoa, of the Javanese. 



This species, first described by Dr. Horsfield in his Sy- 

 stematic Arrangement of Birds from Java, published in the 

 Linnean Transactions, is peculiarly distinguished by the 



• Zool. Journ. vol. i. p. 328. 

 Vol. 66. No. 328. y2?/^'. 1825. R smallness 



