inhabiting the South of Africa. Ill 



partim plumis et partim squa- 

 mis rigidis elevatis tecti ; digiti 

 squamosi et prope ungues scu- 

 tullati ; ungues incequales mo- 

 dice curvati. Remex 2^ a - 

 longissima, \ma. ^ %tia. f ere 

 cequales. 



Tarsi short, partly covered 

 with feathers, and partly with 

 rough elevated scales ; toes 

 scaly, and towards claws scu- 

 tulate ; claws unequal, mo- 

 derately curved. The second 

 wing feather the longest, the 



first and third nearly equal. 

 HELOTAESTJS TYPICUS. Boot or Berghaan of the Colonists. 



Falco ecaudatus, Shaw, vol. 7, p. 98. Le Bateleur, Le Vail- 

 lanl Ois. Afr. pi. 7 and 8. 



H. niger, dor so, caudaque rufis ; humeris griseo-fuscis ; tectrici- 

 bus alarum nigris ; primariis et secundariis, griseis aut cinereis 

 prope bases, nigris versus apices. 



Male. Tip of bill black ; base and the cere orange ; eyes 

 deep red ; head, neck, and under parts clear black ; inter- 

 scapulars, back, and tail clear deep chesnut ; shoulders gray- 

 ish brown ; primary and secondary wing coverts black ; pri- 

 mary wing feathers with both vanes gray, and the inner ones 

 edged near quills with white ; secondaries cinereous gray, 

 with the inner vanes edged with white ; and each feather 

 broadly tipt with fine shining black ; scapulars black ; tail 

 slightly rounded, and the wings, when folded, about three 

 inches longer than it. Tarsi reddish, more or less inclined 

 to orange ; toes similarly colored ; claws black. Length from 

 bill to base of tail seventeen inches ; length of latter five 

 inches and a half. 



Female. Colors disposed as in the male, only less bright ; 

 size a little greater. 



Young. Cere bluish ; bill horn colored ; feet and tarsi 

 yellowish ; plumage brown, lightest on the head and neck, 

 most of the feathers with the edges and tips of a fainter hue; 

 primary and secondary wing feathers blackish, tinged with 

 gray ; tail blackish brown ; claws black. 



It is found in Autniqua land and in the eastern districts of 

 the colony, as well as in the country around Lattakoo. It flies 

 very high, and exhibits a peculiar appearance on account of 

 the shortness of the tail and the length of the wings. Le 

 Vaillant says it kills young antelopes, lambs, ostriches, &c., 

 but I have seen it only feed upon carrion, which it did 

 with great avidity. 



Genus. AQUILA. Auct. 



Rostrum supra subangulare ; 

 nares rotundatce ; ceroma sub- 

 hispidum. Tarsi usque ad 

 digitos plumati. 



Beak somewhat angular a- 

 bove; nostrils rounded; ceroma 

 rather hispid. Tarsi clothed 

 with feathers to the toes. 

 [17] 



