FALCO. 71 



Young Male. Dark earthy brown, some of the feathers of the crown obscurely 

 margined, the nape and hind neck mottled, the lower back and rump edged, 

 and the upper tail-coverts barred with rufous. Tail dark brown, spotted 

 on the outer web and banded on the inner one with rufous, the two centre 

 feathers nearly obsoletely barred. Quills dark brown, barred with pale buff on 

 the inner web ; the secondaries paler brown, edged and spotted on the outer 

 web with rufous. Feathers under the eye and cheek stripe blackish brown. 

 Sides of the face and ear-coverts strongly tinged with rufous ; throat whitish ; 

 rest of under surface earthy buff, with central dark brown streaks to the 

 feathers inclining to bars on the vent and under tail coverts. Under wing 

 coverts brown, spotted and barred with clear buff. Cere pale sea-green ; bill 

 pale bluish-green, blackish on the culmen and tip ; feet bright yellow ; iris 

 dark brown. 



Length. 15*5 to 16 inches ; wing 11-87 to I2tail ; 6 to 6*6 ; tarsus 1*9. 



Adult Male. Above bluish grey, the feathers with pale fulvescent margins, 

 and having indistinct bars of darker grey ; the lower back, rump and upper 

 tail coverts paler and clearer blue grey, transversely barred with dark grey, the 

 bars somewhat irregular and arrow-shaped on the upper tail coverts. Wing 

 coverts con-colorous with the back, the greater series rather lighter grey. Quills 

 brown, externally shaded with grey ; the secondaries margined and broadly 

 tipped with buffy white, and barred across with darker grey, the bars very 

 distinct on the lower surface of the wing and especially numerous on the pri- 

 maries. Tail grey, tipped with fulvous and crossed with nine or ten bars of 

 darker grey, the light grey interspaces sometimes tinged with rufous, the lower 

 surface of the tail whitish, the bars very distinct. Head and hind neck clear 

 rufous, the crown more or less inclined to greyish black, of which colour many 

 of the feathers are composed, having only a slight margin of rufous. A rufous 

 half collar round the back of the neck, mottled somewhat with slaty. Sides of 

 the face buffy white, tinged with rufous ; the ear coverts streaked with brown, 

 collecting on the cheeks and forming a distinct moustache. Throat pure 

 white ; chest also white, with a few narrow central streaks of brown ; remain- 

 der of under surface whitish, slightly tinged with buff and numerously marked 

 with arrow-head spots of brown in the centre of the body, and barred on the 

 sides of the breast, flanks, and under wing coverts with the same colour. The 

 bars on the thighs and under tail coverts narrower than on the greater series 

 of the under wing coverts. Cere, gape, orbits and feet bright yellow ; bill 

 bluish, blackish at the tip ; iris deep brown. 



Length. 17-25 inches; wing 13; tail 7*25; tarsus 175. 



Hab. The Punjab, Beloochistan and Persia, N.-W. Provinces, Nepaul, 

 N.-E. Africa, Mesopotamia, Central Asia. It is said to breed in Cashmere. 

 A winter visitant. Not uncommon from November to February in Sind and 

 Northern India. 



