536 RARE BRITISH BIRDS 



of the upper parts greyish brown, with greyish black bands ; feathers below the eye and sides 

 of the neck blackish grey ; throat white ; remainder of the under surface white, with broad 

 longitudinal streaks of black, the flanks barred with the same colour ; iris dark brown ; bill 

 slate, black at the tip ; cere and feet yellow, [w. p. p. and T. w.] 



2. Distribution. Breeds only in Northern Scandinavia and Lapland ; in Norway generally 

 in Finmark, on the coast as well as in the fjeld, and also in the Telemark fjeld ; in Sweden in 

 the wilder parts of the high fjeld from Lapland to Jetntland ; also on the borders of Finnish 

 Lapland and Russian Lapmark and on the Murman coast. As a vagrant it has occurred in 

 the Baltic Provinces, Poland, N. Germany, Heligoland, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, and at 

 least twice in England (Sussex, 1845, and Suffolk, 1867). It is also said to have strayed to 

 Iceland and N. America. [F. c. R. J.] 



AMERICAN PEREGRINE-FALCON [Fdlco peregrinus atidtum Bonaparte. Duck-hawk]. 



1. Description. Distinguishable from the common - peregrine by the absence of the 

 oval spots on the breast, characteristic of the latter species. The sexes are identical, 

 excepting that the female is slightly the larger bird. Adult, total length 15 in. [380 mm.], 

 [w. p. P. and T. w.] 



2. Distribution. Breeds in North America from Norton Sound, Alaska, N. Mackenzie, 

 Boothia Peninsula, and West Greenland south to Lower California, Arizona, Texas, and 

 S. Carolina. Replaced along the north-west coast by a closely allied race. It is a migratory 

 species, and winters from southern British Columbia to the West Indies, Panama, and South 

 America. It has occurred twice in England (Leicester, 1891, and Lincoln, 1910). [F. c. R. J.] 



REDFOOTED-FALCON [Fdlco vespertinus Linnaeus. Orangelegged-hobby. French, faucon 

 d pieds rouges; German, Rotfussfalke ; Italian, falco cuculo\. 



1. Description. The male of the redfooted-falcon can be recognised at a glance by the rich 

 chesnut abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts, and tfye uniform slate-black tail. The sexes 

 are unlike in coloration. Length 11J in. [292 mm.]. Adult male above slate-black, becoming 

 lighter on the wings ; primary flight-feathers and secondaries silvery grey ; shafts of the feathers 

 black ; chin, throat, and under parts bluish grey, with very faint black shaft-stripes ; lower 

 abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts rich chesnut. Adult female upper parts, including 

 the wings and tail, bluish grey, barred with black ; head and under parts reddish chesnut, 

 some of the feathers spotted or streaked with black, [w. p. p. and T. w.] 



2. Distribution. In Europe the species breeds in Hungary, Moravia, Galizia, the Tyrol, 

 Bulgaria, Roumania, and in Russia from the Baltic Provinces (rare), Archangel, and Poland 

 southward. It is also said to have bred near Halle in 1885 and in Saxony. In Asia it breeds 

 from Asia Minor and West Siberia east to the Altai, but is replaced by other forms in East 

 Siberia, Central Asia, and China. Breeding in Cyprus requires confirmation. The western form 

 migrates in winter through Asia Minor, Cyprus, Palestine, and S.E. Europe to Africa, ranging 

 south to Ovarnpoland, Damaraland, and Great Namaqualand. As a straggler it has occurred as 

 far west as Spain, the Canaries, and about forty-two times in the British Isles. [F. c. R. J.] 



LESSER-KESTREL [Fdlco naumanni Fleischer ; Fdlco cenchrifi Naumann. French, faucon 

 cresserine; German, Rotelfalke; Italian, falco grillaio]. 



1. Description. Differs from the common-kestrel (see vol. iv. p. 140) in having the claws 

 white. The sexes differ both in size and coloration, the male being the smaller of the two. Length 

 12 in. [305 mm.]. Head, back and sides of neck, rump, and upper tail-coverts and tail of a 



