The Zoologist — September, 1871. 2737 



ouly, as even within the limits of the Western Palfearctic Region one of 

 these races is met with. In Madeira the kestrels are much darker ; and 

 we are indebted to our friend Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown for a specimen shot 

 in that island by Mr. A. J. Grant in November, 1862. Compared with 

 English female kestrels the bird in question is not only darker in all its 

 tints, which incline to very deep rufous on all parts of the body, but also in 

 having the cross bands on the tail much broader, while at the same time 

 the centre tail-feathers are strongly washed with blue. A female specimen 

 from Abyssinia exactly agrees with the Madeira skin ; and a male specimen 

 from the same country, in Lord Walden's collection, is much darker than 

 European specimens. This curious difference in the resident kestrel of 

 North-eastern Africa has not been overlooked by Dr. von Heuglin, who also 

 remarks the broader bands on the tail. Professor SundevaU has likewise 

 drawn attention to this dark race, but says that the general style of plumage 

 agrees with that of the European bird, apparently overlooking the difference 

 in the barring of the tail-feathers. This dark-coloured race is doubtless the 

 bird called by Piiippell Tinnunculus rupicolus, and alluded to by Bonaparte 

 as 'Tinnunculus rupicolae-formis, Wilrtemburg,' a name apparently never 

 published and not alluded to in Dr, von Heuglin's recently published work 

 on the Ornithology of North-eastern Africa. 



" Besides all the examples we have examined in collections of European 

 birds in this country, we have also seen a large number of Indian specimens 

 in Lord Walden's collection, and we are further indebted to Mr. Pi. Swinhoe 

 for the loan of a beautiful series of kestrels from China. We have critically 

 examined all these specimens, and we believe that the kestrel of China is 

 the same as the Japanese kestrel, called by authors Tinnunculus japonicus. 

 We cannot, however, consider this eastern bird to be specifically distinct 

 from the common kestrel of Europe, although we confess that the dark- 

 coloured individuals at first sight look very different. But in the series 

 which Mr. Swinhoe has placed before us all shades of colour are repre- 

 sented, from very light fawn to very dark rufous. Neither can we satis- 

 factorily account for these changes ; for specimens of both light and dark 

 forms occur at Amoy in the same month of the year. We notice, however, 

 that the majority of the pale-coloured individuals were obtained in the 

 months of October and April, while most of the dark-coloured specimens 

 were procured between November and February ; so that the light-coloured 

 race may be the resident kestrel, and the dark-coloured race the winter 

 visitant, which would be exactly the contrary to what obtains in Europe 

 and the Western Palsearctic Ecgion generally. The tail in most of the 

 dark rufous specimens from Japan and China is washed with blue, as in the 

 Madeiran and Abyssinian races ; but the breadth of the bars on the rectrices 

 varies ad mJiniUim, and in the eastern races, at least, does not seem to be a 

 character of any great importance. 



