inhabiting the South of Africa, 109 



Genus. CIRC^EETUS. Vieillot. 



Beak above convex ; nostrils 

 lunulated; ceroma subhispid. 

 Tarsi elongated, naked ; acro- 

 tarsia reticulated. Toes short ; 

 the outer connected at the base 

 to the middle one ; claws stout, 

 nearly equal. 



Rostrum supra convexum ; 

 nare.s lunula t a ; ceroma subhis- 

 pidum. Tarsi elongati, nudi ; 

 acrotarsia reticulata. Digiti 

 breves; externus cum medio ad 

 basin connexus; ungues breves 

 xubcequales. 



ClRC.EETUS PECTORALIS. 



C nigro-fuscus' aid niger, guttere et pectore nigris, abdo- 

 inine, crisso ; et cruribus albis ; cauda faciis transversis nigri* 

 que albidis striata ; Iridibis flavis ; tarsis subalbidis, imguibiis 

 rostroque subnigris. 



Male. — Bill dark horn colored; eyes fine yellow; head, 

 together with the back and sides of neck blackish brown, 

 the former often with a slight tinge of gray; interscapulars, 

 back, tail coverts, and shoulders blackish brown, each feather 

 more or less distinctly tipt with a dusky or pure white , 

 throat variegated black and white; breast pure black or 

 brownish black; belly, under, tail coverts, and thighs pure 

 white. Primary quill feathers black, with the exception of 

 the greater portion of the inner vane of each towards its base, 

 which is white; secondaries marked by transverse black and 

 grayish, or grayish white bands, and distinctly <*tipt with 

 white. Tail nearly even and composed of twelve feathers, 

 each of which has, or may be said to have, white or gray 

 and white as the ground color, and to be crossed more or less 

 completely by three broad black bands. When the two colors 

 first mentioned occur in the same specimen, the gray occu- 

 pies only the outer vanes towards the tips, and sometimes a 

 little of the inner ones near the shafts, whilst the white 

 appears in all other situations. When viewed below the 

 whole ground color appears a pure white, and the three 

 transverse bands a dusky black. Legs and toes livid white, 

 with a tint of greenish; claws black. Length from bill to 

 base of tail fourteen inches ; length of tail nine inches and 

 a half. 



Female.— In point of color the male and female are nearly 

 alike, but the latter is always considerably larger than the 

 former. 



Young. — When it leaves the egg it i3 covered with a dense 

 white down, which, after a few months, is concealed by an 

 uniform light chesnut or a dull earthy brown plumage*. The 



• l have met with younff specimens of this species of both colors, which 

 lit possibly have been different sexes. 



