inhabiting the South of Africa. 231 



ACCIPITER RUFIVENTRIS. 



A. supra brunneus; infra subfulvus; remiges brunncce, 

 pogoniis internis nigro fascialis, cauda fuscis quinque nigris et 

 quatuor cceruleo-griseis notata, 



Falco rufiventris, Latham's History of Birds, vol. 1, p. 284. » *■« 

 — Daud. Orn. torn. 2, p. 86i — Epervier bleuatre, Voy. d'Azara, 

 3, No. 26. V — 



Male. — Bill, with the exception of a small yellow spot near 

 base of upper mandible, and another opposite it on the lower, 

 black ; head, hinder part of neck, back, upper tail coverts, 

 and shoulders brown, with a tinge of deep slate color, which 

 is particularly strong soon after moulting ; sides of neck, 

 chin, throat, breast, anterior part of belly, and thighs light 

 rufous, the three first the palest; hinder part of belly dirty 

 white, banded transversely with rufous ; under tail coverts 

 white. Primary wing feathers dirty brown, the inner vanes 

 banded with black, and towards quill marked on their inner 

 edges between the bands by pure white ; secondaries brown, 

 with the inner vanes banded with dusky black, and varied 

 with white in the same situations as the primaries. Tail 

 slightly rounded, and marked by five broad transverse bands 

 of dusky black, and four of a dusky or pure bluish gray, tips 

 of all the feathers white ; legs and toes yellow ; claws black. 

 Length from bill to base of tail five inches and a half ; length 

 of tail four and a half. 



Female. — Length from bill to base of tail seven inches ; 

 length of tail seven inches; colors more dull above, and 

 rather deeper beneath. 



Young. — Color above brown, without the dark slate tint of 

 the mature bird, and varied particularly about the shoulders, 

 head, neck, &c. by each feather being narrowly edged with 

 rufous ; legs pale yellow ; claws dark horn colored. 



This species occurs along the South-east coast and to some 

 very considerable distance inland, at least I have seen several 

 specimens from the neighbourhood of Baviaans River, and 

 from the country towards the southern branches of the Orange 

 River ; I have also seen examples of the same bird which 

 were killed near Constantia, and between that and Cape Town. 



Obs.— This appears to agree with the description of the 

 Falco rufiventris of Shawl and, though he describes his bird 

 as being a native of Cayenne, it might possibly have been 

 obtained from the Cape, or the species may be an inhabitant 



buth countries. 



JS 



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