FALCONING. 19 



grey, the latter with a broad black band, and the former some- 

 times tinged black ; mantle and wing-coverts vinaceous, with 

 some heart-shaped black spots ; beneath creamy or rusty with 

 spots of brown, linear on the breast, oval on the abdomen, and 

 heart-shaped on the sides ; the under tail-coverts are unspotted ; 

 quills brown, with white bands or spots 011 the inner webs. 



Female (and young male) : above of a ruddy vinaceous color, 

 with long dark stripes on the head and neck, broadish bars on 

 the back and wing-coverts ; tail with numerous dark bands, and 

 a broader one at the end, white-tipped ; cheek-stripe dark, of 

 small extent ; ears hoary ; plumage beneath reddish-ochraceus, 

 with numerous and close brown spots. 



To the above description, which is Dr. Jerdon's, must be added, 

 that the tail is tipped with white, and that the centre tail- 

 feathers have at times linear black spots on their inner webs ; 

 the quills are also often narrowly edged and tipped with white. 



The young male is not exactly like the female ; it is always 

 more rufous. 



The Kestril is common throughout the country, but only as a 

 winter visitant. It arrives in September and does not take its 

 departure until April. It does not breed anywhere within our 

 limits ; but is known to do so on the Himalayan, Suleiman, and 

 Neilgherry ranges. I obtained a good series of eggs on the Khoja 

 Amran Hills, between Quetta and Kandahar. 



Cerchneis naumanni, Fleish. 



18. Erythropus cenchris, Maum. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. 

 I, p. 40 ; Butler, Deccan and South Mahratta country ; Stray 

 Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 371 ; Hume's Scrap Book, p. 103. 



THE LESSER KESTRIL. 



Total length, 12*5 inches ; culmen, 075 ; wing, 9'5 ; tail, 6 ; 

 tarsus, 1'2. 



Bill lightish-blue, yellow at base, and blackish at tip ; cere, 

 orbits, and feet beautiful yellow ; the claws generally white, very 

 rarely inclining to blackish ; iris dark brown. 



Adult male : upper surface of body rich cinnamon-rufous ; 

 entire head and hind-neck, lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts, 

 and tail blue-grey, the latter tipped with white, and crossed by a 

 broad subterminal band of black ; lores and a few streaks on the 

 cheeks whitish ; lesser and medium wing-coverts cinnamon-rufous, 

 like the back, a few of the outer ones of the latter series washed 

 with blue-grey ; the greater-coverts and inner secondaries blue-grey 

 washed with rufous externally ; primaries dark brown ; throat 

 deep fulvous-white ; breast pale cinnamon or vinous, with a few 

 blackish ^spots on the breast, becoming larger on the sides of 

 the body ; thighs paler rufous, unspotted ; abdomen and under 

 tail-coverts yellowish-white ; under wing-coverts white, with a 

 few tiny black oval spots, larger on the axillaries. 



