598 Dr. R. B. Sharpe on Birds 



No. 439. Juv. Efulen, April 11, 1904. " Obi-mven." 

 [Wing 8-5.] 



One of these birds has a black back and white under 

 surface, with spots and broad bars of black on the sides 

 of the body. The second is tinged with buff below, and 

 has more black spots on the sides of the fore-neck and 

 breast. The flanks and thighs are barred with black and 

 rufous, the latter more narrowly. In appearance they all 

 resemble the young of A. castan'dius, but the large size 

 refers them to A. tousseneli. It should be noted that in my 

 former paper (antea, p. 100) the length of the wing in 

 the smallest female is given as 8*3 ; it should have been 

 8*5 inches. 



The specimen described as A. tibialis by me in the 

 1 Catalogue of Birds' (vol. i. p. 108) is certainly a young 

 male of Astur castanilius. Professor Reichenow has already 

 made this identification of the two species, but was not 

 certain whether the specimen in the Shelley Collection 

 described by me (/. c.) in the ' Catalogue ' was to be 

 similarly identified. 



8. AcCIPITER MELANOLEUCUS. 



Accipiter melanoleucus Smith ; Sharpe, antea, p. 102. 



No. 363. <J juv. Efulen, Feb. 25, 1904. 



The young of this species is to be distinguished from the 

 young of the Goshawks {Astur macroscelides, A. tousseneli, 

 &c.) by its rufous upper surface, mottled with black centres 

 to the feathers, and also by the long Accipitrine middle toe. 

 In addition to the shorter middle toe of the Astures, the 

 young birds of the latter have the upper surface uniform 

 blackish brown. 



" The worst feathered poultry-thief is a smallish Hawk of 

 a black colour (Accipiter melanoleucus) , though Imever got a 

 specimen taken in the act or with the booty on its person. 

 It is so very adroit, that it is seldom killed. But though it 

 escapes itself, it does not always take its prey away with it, 

 for it not unfrequently drops a heavy fowl in attempting to 

 carry it off, leaving ugly and generally fatal talon-wounds in 

 its back." 



