POLIOHIERAX. 67 



i 

 blue, each feather with a linear dark shaft stripe ; lower hack, rump and 



upper tail coverts white ; tail feathers black, tipped with white and with a feu- 

 white spots, the remains of narrow transverse bars, not very apparent on the 

 central tail feathers ; quills blackish brown or black (the later secondaries 

 and tertiaries more or less tinged slaty) with a few small white spots, most 

 conspicuous on the outer webs of all but the first primary and numerous broad 

 white bars on the inner webs ; chin, throat, and whole lower surface, including 

 wing lining, white ; some of the feathers of the throat with narrow, central 

 brown shaft stripes and, those of the sides and upper abdomen with broad 

 grey brown dashes ; cere, orbits and feet yellow ; bill leaden black, yellow 

 at base. 



Male. Length IQ'5 inches ; wing 5^5 ; tail 5*8 ; tarsus 1*55 ; culmen 0*85. 



The female is like the male* but distinguished by its bright ferruginous head 

 and markings ; forehead, eyebrow, and sides of face ashy white with narrow 

 linear black shaft stripes. 



Length. 10-7 to 10*9 inches; wing 5^9 to 6 ; tail 5*8; tarsus 1*5 to i'6. 



Hab. Pegu, Toonghoo, and Tennaserim. Capt. Fielden says it is common 

 about Thayetmyo. Mr. Gates, (S. F. iii.), says, from the Irrawady to the sum- 

 mit of the Pegu hills, also Arracan, 



According to Capt. Fielden's observations its food consists of insects, with an 

 occasional mouse, snake, or lizard. He adds that " the ordinary note of this 

 bird is like that of the white-eyed buzzard, but of course not so loud. 

 During the pairing season, its call-note is a kind of whistling hoot, which 

 appeared to me to resemble ' tooovey,' the ' too,' very much prolonged. I once 

 saw a pair meet, when they uttered a succession of loud harsh screams which 

 resembled the cries of a flock of red-waltled plovers when disturbed, but 

 before they rise. They pair about the last week in January. I found 

 an unshelled egg in March (on dissection). I think I found an old nest in 

 the fork of a tree as I shot a young bird a short distance off, but I only mention 

 this as a help to others in looking for the nest. It resembled a small hawk 

 eagle's nest both in make and position. 



"The habits of these birds are very peculiar, in something resembling those 

 of the magpie. They perch exactly like a falcon ; but if they wish to move 

 along a branch, they hop sideways, or if the branch is pretty upright, walk up 

 it foot over foot, if I may use the expression, in the same manner as a Magpie.- 

 When at all alarmed they jerk their tail, and when much excited by the ap- 

 proach of any one, lower their heads exactly in the same way as some of the 

 owlets. Altogether, when moving about the branches of a tree, they might at 

 a short distance be mistaken for a magpie, except for the shape of the head. 

 The flight is also peculiar, a few tolerably rapid strokes ending, if I remember 

 rightly, in a slightly upward jerk, then a short sail through the air, and then 

 a few more strokes, and so on. 



