inhabiting the South of Africa. 391 



clear, the female, in most other respects, resembles the male ; 

 and there is not the great difference in size that occurs in 

 many others of the family. 



Young. Bill black towards tip, light horn-colored at base ; 

 cere yellowish ; irides brown ; head and neck brown, with all 

 the feathers broadly tipt with reddish white or tawny yellow ; 

 black brown, with the feathers tipt with tawny yellow or pale 

 rufous ; shoulders varied brown and tawny, with a longitudi- 

 nal blackish streak along the centre of each feather; chin 

 with longitudinal streaks of black and dirty tawny ; breast 

 with the feathers black in their centres, then tawny, and on 

 the edges dirty rufous, the tips are also tawny ; under tail 

 coverts light tawny rufous ; thighs with the centres of the 

 feathers light brown, and the edges somewhat rufous. Pri- 

 mary and secondary wing coverts dark brown, tipt with tawny ; 

 primary wing feathers black, and the inner edges of inner 

 vanes near quills much mottled with white, tips tawny rufous ; 

 secondaries blackish brown, indistinctly banded with dusky 

 black, and all tipt with tawny. Tail grayish brown, with nine 

 or ten blackish oblique transverse bands, and each feather 

 broadly tipt with tawny ; below the colors appear black and 

 grayish white ; legs and toes dull yellow ; claws black. When 

 it leaves the egg it is covered with a grayish down. 



It feeds upon young chickens and other small birds, as well 

 as carrion, and in search of such it evinces much courage, 

 sometimes carrying them away from almost the very doors of 

 farm-houses. It belongs to the migrating class of birds, and only 

 spends the hot months of the summer in South Africa. During 

 that period it is found very generally distributed over the 

 whole colony, as well as over the country both to the north- 

 ward and eastward of it, and usually resorts daily to the 

 neighbourhood of inhabited places between the hours of ten 

 and four. It breeds during its temporary residence ; and 

 " builds its nest commonly upon trees or rocks, but, when 

 possible, prefers bushes in the neighbourhood of marshes, and 

 lays four eggs spotted with reddish." 



O&s. Though Temminck has set this bird down as identi- 

 cal with the European species, yet I have no hesitation in 

 viewing it as quite distinct. The bill of the South African 

 bird is invariable fine yellow, and that, with many other less 

 evident differences, which will, doubtless, be more clearly 

 discovered by persons who possess good opportunities of com- 

 paring specimens of both countries, appears tome to warrant 

 the conclusion. 



[55] 



