436 Mr. M. J. WicoW— Contributions 



4. ? adult, May 16tli. Under parts washed with deep 

 rust colour. 



5. ? adult. May 22nd. Under parts wliitish with a wash 

 of pale rust colour; the nape almost v/hite. 



Cerchneis tinnunculus. 



I have two specimens of Kestrels from the Wadi Natron 

 obtained by Mr. Balboni. One, a male shot on May 6th, 

 1910, is in nearly full plumage, the tail only shewing signs 

 of immaturity. This example is quite distinct from the 

 resident Kestrel of the Delta, C. t. carlo Hartert & 

 Neumann, being larger and much paler both above and 

 below. It belongs, 1 believe, to an undescribed race. An 

 immature bird of similar size was shot by Mr. Balboni on 

 August 24th, 1910, and is now in my possession. 



I might add that I have a fully adult male example 

 of this large pale race, which I shot near Aburoash in the 

 Giza Province on December 23rd, 1910. This form is 

 undoubtedly only a migrant to Lower Egypt, and its 

 breeding quarters must be sought elsewhere. 



Cerchneis cenchris. 



Falco Cenchris (Cuv.), Shelley, p. 195. 



On March 18th, 1910, I saw two female Lesser Kestrels 

 in some eucalyptus trees in the Wadi and obtained both of 

 them. Four days later a flock of twenty-five appeared, and of 

 these — six examples — three males and three females were 

 shot. 



The Lesser Kestrel is said to be always distinguishable 

 from C. tinnunculus by its white claws. I was surprised to 

 find, however, that no7ie of the eight examples referred to 

 above had white claws ! 



The colour of the claws of the specimens obtained is as 

 follows : — 



No. 1354, S adult. 22.3.10. " Claws blackish grey.'' 

 No. 1353, S adult. 22.3.10. " Claws of a darker brown- 

 ish flesh colour.'' 

 No. 1355, ^ adult. 22.3.10. " Claws brownish grey." 

 No. 1356, ? . 18.3.10. '' Claws slaty brown." 



