306 African Zoology, 



vanes hoary, the inner ones nearly white, and both, towards tips, 

 crossed by a broad blackish band ; upper tail coverts white, 

 under ones black, some of them narrowly tipt with white. Tail 

 above black, with four transverse bands of dark bluish grey, 

 and the tips of all the feathers greyish white ; the vanes close 

 to quills pure silky white. Legs and toes yellow ; claws black. 

 Length from bill to base of tail ten inches ; length of latter nine 

 inches and a half. 



Young. Front blackish brown ; crown and part of nape light 

 rufous, variegated with brownish black streaks or clouds ; back 

 of neck an uniform brownish black, feathers broadly tipt with 

 pale rufous or tawny white ; chin, throat, breast, and belly, tawny 

 rufous ; the two first with brownish streaks or spots, the third 

 clouded by brownish blotches, and the last slightly marked by 

 longitudinal brown streaks. Quill feathers with the grey less 

 clear, and the tips of the feathers tawny white. Tail blackish 

 brown, with three distinct white transverse bands, and the bases 

 and tips of all the feathers white. Legs and toes dirty yellow. 



Inhabits South Africa. 



Circus Swainsonii, Smith. Front and eyebrows white ; upper 

 parts ashy grey ; the tail coverts faintly banded with brown ; 

 under parts and insides of shoulders pure white Primary and 

 secondary wing coverts grey, faintly tipt with white ; quill 

 feathers towards points brown black, outer vanes towards quills 

 grey, inner vanes white. Tail rounded, the centre feathers 

 brown- grey with four or five broad, dark brown bands ; lateral 

 feathers pale fulvous or tawny white, banded irregularly with 

 dark brown ; the tips of all the feathers white. Bill black 

 with a faint yellow mark on the edges of both upper and lower 

 mandible towards base; cere, legs, and toes yellow; claws 

 black. Length seventeen inches and a half. 



Young. Front and eyebrows whitish ; top of head and back 

 of neck pale rufous, variegated with longitudinal dark brown 

 stripes ; back and shoulders dull brown, the feathers margined 

 with rufous ; upper tail coverts white ; chin whitish ; under 

 parts pale fulvous, darkest on the throat and breast ; many of 

 the feathers with a dark rufous brown stripe in the course of 

 the shaft. Outer tail feathers banded pale fulvous and dark 

 brown. 



Inhabits South Africa. 



Circus superciliaris, Smith. South African Quarterly Journal, 

 vol. i.p. 385. (the young.) 



Circus Le Vaillantii, Smith. Bill black; base of lower 

 mandible yellow. Front, chin, nape, cervix, and part of breast, 

 white or rufous white ; the feathers of the neck and nape each 



[94] 



