THE RED-LEGGED FALCONET. 211 



Mr. Hough in the extreme south of Tenasserim. As it was for a long time 

 doubtful whether the Tenasserim bird was the true B. sumatrensis y I have 

 preferred giving Mr. Hume's description of the bird that Mr. Davison got. 

 This species has been met with in Sumatra. 



The birds of the genus Baza may be recognized not only by their long 

 crest, but also by the double tooth on the edge of the upper mandible. 



Genus MICROHIERAX, Sharpe. 



583. MICBOHIERAX C53RULESCENS. 

 THE RED-LEGGED FALCONET. 



Falco caerulescens, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 125. Hierax eutolmus, Hodgs. in 

 Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 81 ; Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 42 ; Hume, Rough Notes, i. p. Ill ; 

 El. B. Burm. p. 59. Microhierax caerulescens, Sharpe, Cat. Birds B. Mm. 

 i. p. 366 ; Hume, S. F. iii. p. 22; Bingham, S. F. v. p. 80 ; Hume $ Dav. S. F. 

 vi. p. 3; Anders. Yunnan Exped. p. 571; Hume, S. F. viii. p. 81, ix. p. 142; 

 Oates, S. F. x. p. 178 ; Gurney, Ibis, 1881, p. 272. Microhierax eutolmus, 

 Hume, S. F. v. p. 127. 



Description. Male. Forehead, a broad supercilium, cheeks, sides of the 

 neck and a broad collar on the hind neck white ; crown, nape and all the 

 upper plumage with the wing-coverts glossy black ; primaries and secon- 

 daries black, with a series of white spots on the inner webs, these extending 

 also to the outer webs of some of the later primaries ; tertiaries entirely 

 black ; central tail-feathers black, the others black with white spots on 

 the inner webs ; a thin line round the eyes, the ear-coverts and a prolonga- 

 tion down the sides of the neck black ; chin and throat ferruginous ; breast 

 and abdomen white tinged with ferruginous ; thighs, vent and under tail- 

 coverts very deep ferruginous ; sides of the body black. 



Females are like the males, but when fully adult the breast and abdomen 

 become ferruginous like the throat, but not so deep as the colour of the 

 thighs ; this full tint of ferruginous does not appear to be ever assumed 

 by the male on the breast and abdomen. 



Young birds have the frontal band and supercilium and a line under the 

 eye golden ferruginous ; the chin and throat are white ; the nuchal collar 

 is inconspicuous and mottled with dusky ; the changes to the adult stage 

 are very gradual. 



Bill slaty blue, nearly black at the tip ; cere dark brown ; iris hazel- 

 brown ; mouth fleshy blue ; eyelids plumbeous ; legs plumbeous brown ; 

 claws black. 



Male : length 6' 2 inches, tail 2'6, wing 3'8, tarsus '85, bill from gape '45. 

 Female : length 7 inches, tail 2'9, wing 4*2, tarsus '9, bill from gape "55. 



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