J09 



RUFOUS KESTREL FALCON. 



Falcon rufuscens, SWAINS. 



Ferruginous, banded above, and striped beneath with black ; 

 external parts of the quills entirely brown, immaculate. 



THE true Falcons, like nearly all pre-eminent types 

 of families, are dispersed, with little or no variations, 

 over the five zoological provinces of the world. 

 The species, indeed, are different, but the structure 

 is the same. 



The species now before us is intimately related 

 to the Kestrel of Java, both in its size and general 

 cast of colouring, while both, in point of structure, 

 offer not the slightest difference from the well known 

 Falco sparverius, or American sparrow-hawk. We 

 cannot, therefore, with all our predilection for geo- 

 graphic groups, consider them as belonging even to 

 different sections of the same sub-genus. 



Both sexes of this species are now before us. 

 The male, which is the smallest, differs from the 

 female in having the upper tail-covers and the 

 ground colour of the tail-feathers themselves of a 

 light grey or slate colour. In all other respects, 

 the following description is applicable to both. 



