Birds. 307 



with a spot of brown at tip ; interscapulars and back dirty 

 brown ; upper tail coverts brown, with their tips pale tawny ; 

 throat, sides of neck, and anterior part of breast, blackish 

 brown ; tlanks, belly, thighs, and vent, reddish brown, inclined 

 to dirty ferruginous ; shoulders variegated brown and ])ale 

 t nvny ; inside of wings dark tawny, spotted with brown. Pri- 

 mary and secondary wing coverts brown, v»'ith ta.wny tips ; 

 primary quill feathers dark brown, the inner vanes towards 

 quills light tawny, variegated by longitudinal waved dusky 

 lines; secondaries similarly coloured. Tail nearly even, dark 

 brown, with thvj three outermost feathers of each side distinctly 

 marked by transverse interrupted tawny bands ; centre ones 

 with indistinct light coloured bands on inner vanes; tips of all 

 the feathers tawny. Legs and toes greenish yellow ; claws 

 black. Length about eighteen inches. 



Young. — Plumage an uniform dark brown, very slightly 

 variegated by some streaks of bright tawny about the chin, 

 front, and anterior edges of shoulders. The brown of the up- 

 per parts is dark and clear; that of the lower reddish brown or 

 ferruginous. Tail feathers nearly uniform brown, with tawny 

 tips, and some similarly coloured spots towards quills. Bill 

 Tjlackish blue, the lower mandible yellow at base. Legs and 

 toes dirty yellow. 



Inhabits South Africa. 



Sitb-Fam. FALCONINA. 



Bill curved from the base, with one or more strong teeth up- 

 50U the edge of tiie upper mandible ; wings as long or longer 

 than the tail, first feather long, second longest. 



Genus Falco. Bechst. 



Bill strong, conical, curved from the base with a strong tooth 

 ■on edge of upper vmndible, the lower notched near point ; nostrils 

 round, situatid near anterior edge of are ; tui si short, more or 

 less robust, their upper third feathered, ihj rest rcticula'cd. 

 Tail moderately long, slighllg grndwited, hrond, anil rounded; 

 hinder toe strong ; claws falciform ; ctre neaily naked. 



Falco percgrinus, Lin. Head and upper part of nock hluisli 

 black, rest of upper parts ashy blue, the fcalhors crossed by 

 irregular blackish bands ; quill feathers blackish, with a hoary 

 tint on the outer vanes, inner vanes with transxcrsc fawny or 

 white stripes ; edges of shoulders wliite ; tail ashy with nu- 

 merous transverse black hands, broadest towards the tips which 

 ^re dull white. Beneath each eve a broad black streak ; 



