552 FALCO 



Asia as far west as Pegu, the Western Himalayas, the Deccan, 

 the Nilgiris, the Carnatic, and Ceylon. 



In habits it does not differ from F. vespertinus, and like that 

 species feeds almost entirely on insects of various kinds and 

 small reptiles. Its nest and eggs also resemble those of that 

 species. 



773. KESTREL. 

 FALCO TINNUNCULUS. 



Falco tinnunculus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 127 (1766) ; Naum. i. p. 323, 

 Taf. 30 ; Hewitson, i. p. 32, pi. x. figs. 2, 3 ; Gould, B. of E. i. pi. 26 ; 

 Newton, i. p. 78 ; Dresser, vi. p. 113, pi. 384 ; (Sharpe), Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. i. p. 425 ; (Tacz.), F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 95 ; Seebohm, B. Jap. 

 Emp. p. 194 ; Saunders, p. 355 ; Lilford, i. p. 53, pi. 26 ; F. alau- 

 darius, Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 279 (1788) ; Gould, B. of Gt. Brit. i. 

 pi. 21 ; (Blanf.), F. Brit. Ind. Birds, iii. p. 428 ; F. t. japonicus, 

 Temm. and Schlegel, Faun. Jap. Aves, p. 2, pis. 1, IB ; F. t. canari- 

 ensis (Koenig), J. f. 0. 1890, p. 327, pt. i. 



Cresserelle, French ; Peneireiro, Francelho, Portug. ; Cernicalo, 

 Span. ; Gheppio, Ital. ; Turmfalke, Germ. ; Taarnfalk, Norweg. 

 and Dan. ; Tornfalk, Swed, ; Torniliau'kka, Finn. ; Obiknovennaya- 

 Pustelga, Russ. ; Bouschrada, Arab. ; Karontia, Narzi, $ , 

 Narzinak $ , Hindu. ; Maguso-daka, Jap. 



ad. (England). Head, neck, lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts, 

 and tail blue-grey ; the head narrowly striped, and the tail subterminally 

 broadly banded with black ; rest of upper parts chestnut-red, with black 

 triangular spots ; quills blackish, the inner web with whitish bars ; fore- 

 head and eyebrow whitish ; moustache blackish grey : under parts rufes- 

 cent fawn, the breast streaked, the sides spotted with black ; thigh-feathers 

 pale chestnut, unspotted ; bill yellow at base, then blue, tipped with black ; 

 cere, orbital region, and legs yel low ; iris brown. Culmen T75, wing 9*2, 

 tail 7'0, tarsus 1*6 inch. The female has the upper parts and tail rufous, the 

 former barred, the latter banded with black and tipped with fulvous ; 

 chin and abdomen pale dull fulvous ; breast dull rufous, striped with black ; 

 flanks indistinctly barred. The young bird resembles the female, but is 

 paler. 



Hal. Europe generally, from Lapland to the Mediterranean, 

 but chiefly in summer in the northern parts; Madeira, the 

 Canaries and Azores; Africa south to Abyssinia; Asia Minor 

 and Asia north to northern Siberia, south to northern India ; 

 China ; Corea ; Japan. 



Inhabits the woods, plains, and cultivated localities, where 

 it may be seen carefully quartering the ground, occasionally 



