14 My. J. D. D. La Touche—Field- Notes on 
156. Fatco sussuteo L. 
Styan, Ibis, 1891, p. 489; La Touche & Rickett, Ibis, 
1905, p. 55. 
Passes in May and September, at which periods it is to be 
seen circling over the hills. 
157. Fatco recutvs Pall. 
Styan, Ibis, 1891, p. 489. 
Fairly common in winter. 
158. Cercunets saturata (Blyth). 
Falco tinnunculus saturatus (Blyth); La Touche, Ibis, 
1900, p. 48. 
Cerchneis saturata (Blyth) ; Grant, Ibis, 1900, p. 601. 
This dark Kestrel is a common resident in our part of the 
Lower Yangtse Valley. It breeds every year at, or quite 
close to, Chinkiang, but I was only able to procure the eggs 
once. In 1903 a pair established themselves in a circular 
niche in the wall of a foreign house on the British Con- 
cession. They took possession of this spot in March, and 
on the 5th of April following one egg had been laid. On 
the 11th of April there were four eggs. The niche where 
the birds were nesting was closed at the back by a disk of 
wood and was easily reached from the verandah. When I 
went up to the nest the female was sitting, quite undis- 
turbed by the sound of voices in the verandah, but flew off 
when the back of the hole was gently tapped. Three of the 
eggs were lying close together, and the fourth a little 
further off. The building-material consisted of a very small 
quantity of paper in httle crumpled bits, probably used to 
prevent the eggs from rolling out. The occupier of the 
house would not allow me to take the whole clutch, as he 
wished the birds to continue to breed there, so I took 
two eggs, depositing in their place a small hen’s egg. On 
leaving the house I saw the Falcon return to her eggs 
holding something in her bill. She perched for a short 
time on the edge of the niche screaming violently, then flew 
off, and a few minutes after was preening her feathers un- 
concernedly on a neighbouring roof. She was sitting again 
