422 



feathers ; lower parts buff or white, with spots on the breast f 

 abdomen, and flanks, those on the breast and middle of the 

 abdomen disappearing in old birds. 



In young birds the rufous bars are irregular and ill-marked, and 

 those *on the tail more or less imperfect. In this stage F. milvipes 

 is very like F. cherrug, but may generally be distinguished by some 

 of the bars going quite across the tail-feathers. A nestling from 

 Tibet in the Hume collection, attributed to this species, has, 

 however, the tail absolutely unbarred. 



Bill bluish, black at the tip ; cere, legs, and feet yellow. 



Length of female about 23 ; tail 9 ; wing 16 ; tarsus 2-2 ; mid- 

 toe without claw 2 ; bill from gape 1-35 : length of male 20 ; tail 

 7| ; wing 14. 



Distribution. Tibet and part of Mongolia. A few birds have 

 been obtained in the Punjab at times, and one by Sir O. St. John 

 at Quetta. 



1260. Falco subbuteo. The Hobby. 



Falco subhuteo, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 127 (1766) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. 



i, p. 395 ; Hume $ Hall, S. F. vii, p. 197 ; Cripps, ibid. p. 241 ;. 



Hume, Cat. no. 13; Doig, 8. F. ix, p. 282; Butler, ibid. p. 370; 



Biddulph, Ibis, 1881, p. 39 ; Scully, ibid. p. 417 ; Reid, S. F. x, p. 4 ; 



Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 16 ; Hume, S. F. xi, p. 3. 

 Hypotriorchis subbuteo, Boie, Isis, 1826, p. 970 ; BZyth, Cat. p. 15 ; 



Horsf. fy M. Cat. i, p. 23 ; Jerdon, B. I. i, p. 33 ; Stoliczka, J. A. S. B. 



xxxvii, pt. 2, p. 13 ; Hume, Rough Notes, p. 85 ; Brooks, S. F. iii, 



p. 228 ; Butler, ibid. p. 443 ; Hume $ Inglis, S. F. v, p. 4. 

 Lithofalco suhhuteo, King, J. A. 8. B. xxxvii, pt. 2, p. 213. 



Morassani, Oude. 



Coloration. Adults. Upper parts dark slaty grey, shafts of feathers 

 darker, head very dark and blackish ; lores, forehead, and supercilia 

 whitish ; cheek-stripe and sides of head beneath and behind the 

 eye blackish ; some buff on the hind-neck, forming a partial collar ; 

 quills blackish, barred on the basal portion of the inner webs with 

 rufous ; tail slaty grey, the outer feathers barred with rufous on 

 the inner webs ; chin, throat, and sides of neck buff or white ; 

 breast and upper abdomen the same, with a large blackish-brown 

 streak down each feather; lower abdomen, thigh-coverts, and 

 under tail-coverts varying from pale rufous to rich ferruginous. 



Young birds are greyish or brownish black above, with fulvous 

 borders to all feathers ; lower parts pale rufous, with broad 

 blackish-brown streaks throughout ; tail tipped with rufous, other- 

 wise like the adults. The tail often remains brown after the 

 upper plumage generally is slaty grey. 



Bill bluish, with a black tip ; lower base of bill, cere, and orbital 

 skin greenish yellow ; irides intense brown ; lege orange (Cripps). 



Length of female about 13 ; tail 6 ; wing 11 ; tarsus 1'4 ; mid- 

 toe without claw 1-25; bill from gape '8: wing of male 10-25, 

 tail 5-5. 



Distribution. All Europe and Northern and Central Asia r 



