418 Mr. J. Scully on the 



of whicli the following is a description : — Length 12'25 inche.% 

 expanse 27'2, wing 9'25, tail 62, tarsus 1'4 (feathered in 

 front), bill from gape 7, closed wings sliort of end of tail 

 0*8; weight 6"2 ounces. Above, including the secondaries 

 and wing-coverts, pale blue-grey, lighter on rump and upper 

 tail-coverts; all the feathers with distinct black shaft-stripes, 

 most marked on the head, where the crown is lightly tinged 

 with buff. A broad band, including the sides of the neck and 

 the nape, rich rufous, this colour being prolonged narrowly 

 above the ear-coverts to hinder margin of the eye, where it 

 meets the supercilium ; all the feathers streaked or shafted 

 black. Forehead, lores, supercilium, and sides of face sullied 

 white ; a small dark streak downwards from anterior com- 

 missure of eye; ear-coverts pale rufescent, margined with 

 grey posteriorly; chin and throat white, bounded on each 

 side by a pale rufous band, with the feathers black-shafted ; 

 entire underparts rufous-buff, paler on abdomen, with me- 

 dian blackish shaft-stripes. Under wing-coverts white, barred 

 with black, and black-shafted. Quills greyish black, barred 

 with white on the inner web, and suffused with bluish grey 

 near the bases of the outer webs ; outer web of first primary 

 margined with pure white, and all the quills narrowly mar- 

 gined with greyish white at their tips. Tail pale bluish grey, 

 with black shafts, a broad subterminal band of black and a 

 narrow white tip ; beneath the inner webs of all but the uro- 

 pygials crossed by about seven black bands, exclusive of the 

 broad subterminal one. 



Mr. Gurney, who has examined the interesting specimen 

 above described, suggests to me that the reason why the stage 

 of plumage it represents is not better known in Europe is 

 probably due to the fact that this Falcon is here seldom allowed 

 to attain to old age. The female Merlin doubtless takes a 

 considerably longer time to attain the fully adult plumage 

 than the male ; but that the plumage I have described is not 

 exceptional is, I think, proved by the fact that of three Mer- 

 lins shot in Gilgit two are females, both in grey plumage. 



• 9. Cerchneis tinnunculus (Linn.). 

 The Kestrels in my collection from Gilgit are of the common 



