82 THE LITTLE FALCON. 



surprised in my nest-hunting expeditions, by finding the ruddy eggs of the Kestrel lying 

 in the nest which I thought only to be that of the crow. This bird also deposits its eggs 

 in the crannies of old ruined buildings and lofty towers, but I have never as yet been 

 fortunate enough to find them in such a situation. 



A few years ago a pair of Kestrels built for several successive seasons on the top of 

 a tall elm-tree in a field near Oxford, and whether from the altitude of the nest terrifying 

 the bird-nesting boys, or whether its real position was never discovered by them, the birds 

 seemed to enjoy perfect security, and brought up their young without molestation. It was 

 really a pretty sight to see the young essaying their wings round the tree, sometimes 

 attempting longer nights, but always encouraged by the presence and instructions of their 

 parents. The number of eggs is generally three or four, although a fifth has sometimes 

 been detected. The colour is rather variable, but is in all cases sufficiently characteristic 

 to point out the species to an accustomed eye. The ground tint is either pale reddish- 

 brown, or even a ruddy-white, and the entire surface of the egg is blotched and spotted 

 with dark red-brown. The young birds make their appearance at the end of spring or in 

 the first weeks of summer. 



The colour of the male Kestrel is veiy pleasing, and is briefly as follows. The head, 

 cheeks, and back of the neck are ashen grey, marked with narrow longitudinal streaks of 

 deeper grey. The back and upper portions of the body, together with the tertiaries and 

 wing-coverts, are bright ruddy fawn, dotted with little triangular black spots, caused by 

 the extreme tips of the feathers being black. The larger quill feathers of the wing are 

 black-grey, marked with a paler hue ; the under portions of the body are pale reddish- 

 fawn, marked with dark streaks on the chest and spotted on the abdomen ; the thighs and 

 under tail-coverts are of the same hue as the abdomen, but without the spots. The upper 

 surface of the tail is of the same hue as the head, marked with a single broad band of 

 black near its extremity and tipped with white, while its under surface is grey-white, 

 marked with a number of narrow irregular bars of a darker hue, in addition to the black 

 band and white tip, which are the same as on the upper surface. The legs, toes, cere, 

 and orbits of the eyes are yellow, the claws are black, and the beak is slaty-blue, deepening 

 towards the point. 



The females and young males are differently marked, and are altogether of a darker 

 and more ruddy hue. The head and neck are ruddy-fawn, marked with many transverse 

 darker stripes, and the back, upper portions, and tail are red-brown, covered with 

 numerous irregular blue-black bars. The males do not assume their appropriate plumage 

 until they have completed their first year. The length of the male bird is about thirteen 

 inches, anci that of the female fifteen indies. 



ANOTHER British species, which belongs to the same genus as the kestrel, is the EED- 

 FOOTED FALCON or INGRIAN FALCON (Tinntinculus vesper tinus). It is but a rare bird in 

 England, being only a straggler to our coasts, and having its usual residence in Austria, 

 Russia, and Poland. Specimens have also been taken in Athens, Nepal, and Tunis, so 

 that the species seem to have a very extensive range of country. It goes through 

 considerable changes of tinting before its plumage attains the adult colours, but the full- 

 grown bird may readily be distinguished from the common kestrel by the legs and toes, 

 which are of a reddish flesh tint instead of the yellow hue which is found in the former 

 bird. The claws, too, instead of being black, are yellowish-white, deepening into a 

 greyish-brown on the tips. 



Among other members of the same genus, we may notice the LITTLE FALCON 

 (Tinnunculus sparverius) of America, an interesting account of which bird may be found in 

 the pages of " Wilson's American Ornithology/' Its habits are very similar to those of the 

 common kestrel, and like that bird it preys chiefly on mice, lizards, grasshoppers, and the 

 larger insects. It will, however, attack and carry off chickens and the young of other birds 

 during the breeding season. Its nest is always made on some elevated situation, and is 

 generally found on the top of a lofty tree, although the bird sometimes builds upon rocks, 

 in the crevices of towers, or even in the hollows of ti-oes. 



