Malayan Ornithology. 365 



short flights into the air after beetles and other insects^ but 

 each time returning to the same bought after the manner of 

 the Flycatchers. 



One afternoon, near Tanglin, Singapore, I stood within a 

 few yards of one of these Falcons, and watched it feeding on 

 a large beetle, which it held firmly in one foot and tore to 

 pieces with its strongly notched beak. Possibly they some- 

 times prey on small birds ; but they themselves are so small 

 that I doubt if they could kill any thing more powerful than 

 a Sun -bird or small Warbler. Certainly, as a rule, they are 

 insectivorous; for I have dissected several, and in every case 

 the stomach contained only fragments of beetles, dragonflies, 

 and other things of a like nature, no bones of mice or small 

 birds. 



The sexes appear to be of similar plumage, in colour a 

 deep blue-black, marked on the face and wings with white, 

 the underparts are also white ; length between 6 and 7 

 inches. 



BUTASTUR INDICUS (Gm.). 



The only one I obtained I shot near Kota Lama, Perak, 

 on February 17, 1877. I had just killed a Snipe; and at the 

 report of my gun this bird rose from the topmost limb 

 of a large tree, and, passing within range, fell to my 

 second barrel. 



AcciPiTER viRGATUS (Temni.). 



The Besra Sparrow-hawk appears to be migratory, as, 

 though common in Singapore during October and November, 

 I did not meet with it at any other time of year, and a 

 friend who, early in November, was a passenger on one of 

 the small steamers plying between Sarawak and Singapore, 

 informed me that when near the latter place fifteen or twenty 

 of these little Hawks settled on the rigging ; and being weary, 

 seven of them were easily caught by the seamen. 



My first acquaintance with the species was from seeing 

 one dash along under the verandas of the bungalows in the 

 Tanglin barracks right into the midst of a flock of tame 

 pigeous, scattering them in all directions. During the 



