jo FALCON1D/F.. 



plains of Kashgaria and breeds there. The nest, he says, is placed in long 

 grass jungle ; and adds that he often observed the bird sailing low over rush- 

 grown marshes and bare fields with a wonderfully long sustained flight. It 

 never seems to tire and always appears keenly intent on looking for its prey, 

 every now and then suddenly dropping down among the reeds as if shot, but 

 soon rising again to resume its hunting. He does not however give any 

 particularsof its nidification, except as to the position of the nest. In Europe 

 it is said to be placed on the ground and the materials used are small sticks 

 and coarse grass. Eggs 4 5; in colour pale white or skimmed milk-blue; 

 r 67 X i'33 inches. 



10. CircUS melanoleuCOS, Forst. Ind. Zool p. 12, pi. n ; Vieill, N. 

 Did. d' Hist. Nat. vi. p. 465-, Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 98, No. 53; Sharpe, Cat. 

 Ace. B. M. p. 61 ; Stray F. i. p. 98 ; id. iii. p. 33 vi. p. 1 1 ; id. vii. p. 250; 

 Hume, Rough Notes, ii. p. 307; Holdsw. P. Z. S. 1872, p. 414. The PIED 

 HARRIER. 



Adult Male. The whole head, chin, throat, neck all round, upper breast, 

 nearly two-thirds of the back, scapulars (except the undermost one or two), 

 primaries, and a broad band across the wing black. Wing coverts silvery 

 grey, often broadly tipped with brown. Primary coverts and secondaries 

 silvery grey, except the innermost which are black. Lower portion of back, 

 rump, and upper tail coverts white, the latter with two or three broad cross bars 

 of black or ashy grey. Tail pale, silvery dove colour or silvery grey, narrowly 

 tipped with white ; below and the inner webs also broadly margined with white. 

 Under surface from lower breast, including wing lining and axillaries, pure 

 white. Bill and cere black. Irides and feet yellow. 



- Length. 16 to 17-15 inches; wing 1370 to 14*4; tail 8'S to IO; tarsus 

 2^98 to 3*13; culmen I. 



The young male as described by Mr. Hume has the whole head, neck, and 

 back of neck clove brown, each feather broadly margined with pale 

 rufous. Upper back and scapulars uniform clove brown ; lower back 

 and wings of a slightly lighter shade. Some of the longest feathers of the 

 back with two obscure, terminal, rufous spots, one on each web ; edge of 

 the wing rufous white and many of the lesser coverts faintly or boldly 

 margined with fulvous or rufescent. Upper tail coverts pure white, dark 

 shafted, and with a conspicuous oval, rufous brown subterminal spot. Tail 

 feathers a somewhat greyish pale-brown, narrowly tipped with fulvous white 

 and with broad, rather dark brown transverse bars. Lower parts buffy or 

 rufous white, with central rufous brown stripes, broad on the lower breast 

 and abdomen, almost obsolete on the chin and the thigh coverts. Inner 

 webs of primaries pale rufous white, barred with darker brown, the bars 

 wider and more conspicuous on the under surface. Wing lining rufous 

 buff; axillaries the same, with darker shafts and two or more broad, irre- 



