inhabiting the South of Africa. 385 



white, or pale silvery ; throat, breast, belly, vent, under tail 

 coverts, and inside of wings, pure white ; upper tail coverts 

 white, banded transversely with dusky black. Primary and 

 secondary wing coverts gray, slightly tipt with white ; prima- 

 ry wing feather deep dirty bluish purple, with the inner vanes 

 towards bases white ; secondaries dirty hoary gray, with the 

 edges of the inner vanes white. Tail long, square, the three 

 lateral feathers on each side white, and crossed by five or six 

 irregular transverse brownish bands ; the centre ones deep 

 hoary blue, with faint dusky transverse bands, particularly on 

 inner vanes, tips of all the feathers white ; tarsi and toes 

 yellow; claws black. Length from bill to base of tail eight 

 and a half inches ; length of tail nine inches. 



I have only met with two specimens of this species in the 

 Colony, the one was procured near" Groenekloof, in the Cape 

 District, and the other in Albany. Both of them exhibited 

 exactly the same markings, and gave every reason to believe 

 they were birds arrived at full maturity. 



Circus superaliaris.* 



C. supra brunneus plumis plurimis albo marginatis, fronte, 

 fascia supra el infra oculos, partibus inferiorib usque subfulvis; 

 rostro nigro ; cera et oculis favis; re mi gibus brunneis, pogoniis 

 internis albo fasciatis. 



Male. — Bill black, with a small yellow spot on each side of 

 lower mandible towards base ; eyes brownish yellow; cere 

 yellowish; above dirty brown, with many of the feathers tipt 

 with reddish white, particularly on the shoulders ; front, chin, 

 throat, breast, belly, vent, and a stripe over, and another 

 below each eye, pale tawny ; upper tail coverts pure white ; 

 under ones tawny ; cheeks deep brown. Primary quill feathers 

 dirty brown ; the inner vanes towards quills with alternate 

 white and brown transverse broad bands ; secondaries uni- 

 form dirty brown. Tail even ; the three outermost feathers 

 of each side marked by broad alternate white and dirty brown 

 bands ; tips of all the feathers inclined to white ; legs and 

 toes yellow ; claws black. Length from bill to base of tail 

 eight and a half inches ; length of latter eight inches. 



Female. 



Young. — Above brown, with most of the feathers broadly 

 edged and tipt with dirty red; front, chin, collarets, and band 

 over and under eyes tawny ; breast, belly, vent, and thighs 

 with reddish brown longitudinal blotches ; inside of wings deep 

 chesnut. Primary quill feathers blackish brown, with the 

 inner vanes broadly banded transversely with white. Tail 

 nearly even, with the three outermost feathers of each side 



* South African Commercial Advertiser, for May 30, 1829 

 3 c 



