inhabiting the South of Africa. 387 



neo, ferrugineo et albo notatis ; subtus ferrugineus cauda, fasciis 

 transversis, nigro-brunneis et griseis ; tarsis flavis ; rostro nigro. 



Male. Bill black, with a shade of yellow on lower mandi- 

 ble near base ; eyes and cere yellow ; front and crown brown, 

 varied with tawny ; back of neck and interscapulars dirty dark 

 brown, the feathers edged with pure or reddish white ; back 

 and rump brown, with tawny tips ; upper tail coverts ferru- 

 ginous and brown, with whitish tips ; shoulders mottled dark 

 blackish brown, ferruginous and pure white ; cervical collar 

 blackish brown and white; chin, throat, and breast dirty 

 brown, the feathers edged and tipt with dirty reddish white. 

 Primary and secondary wing coverts blackish brown, with 

 gray transverse bands ; primary quill feathers with the outer 

 vanes marked by alternate transverse bands of deep hoary 

 gray and brownish black ; inner with a considerable propor- 

 tion of bluish gray, variegated by partial transverse blackish 

 bands, and the inner edge of vanes, towards quills, clear 

 white ; towards tips, the feathers all nearly uniform brownish 

 black ; secondaries brown and deep bluish gray, in alternate 

 transverse bands ; inner edges of inner vanes white. Tail 

 with about five blackish brown transverse bands, and with six 

 deep bluish gray ones, besides bluish gray tips to all the 

 feathers. In many of the feathers, more particularly the 

 lateral ones towards quills, there is a strong tinge of chesnut. 

 Legs and toes yellow; claws black. Length from bill to base 

 of tail nine inches ; length of latter nine inches. 



Female. The colors are rather less bright, but in other 

 respects resembles the male. 



This species is found about marshy situations, over the 

 greater part of South Africa. In those it skims along close 

 to the reeds, rushes, or long grass with which they are gene- 

 rally more or less supplied, and feeds on mice, rats, lizards, 

 and such like animals as resort to these damp situations. It 

 builds its nest sometimes on trees or bushes in the vicinity of 

 marshes, but more commonly on the ground, amongst the 

 luxuriant vegetation of those spots. The nest is formed ex- 

 ternally of dried twigs or rushes; internally of hair, wool, <fcc., 

 and it lays three or four white eggs. 



CIRCUS LB VAILLANTII, 



C. f route vertice nucha, cervice et pectore albis aut fulvo- 

 albis ; dorso brunneo ; gutture abdomineque, sub-ferrugineis ; 

 cauda brunnea fasciis transversis subfulvis variegata; rostro 

 nigro ; tarsis cera et oculis flams. 



Male. Bill black ; base of lower mandible yellow ; front, 

 chin, nape, cervix, and part of breast, white or reddish white ; 



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