442 MR. R. SWINHOE ON CHINESE ZOOLOGY. [June 9, 
quills ; tertiaries blackish brown, broadly margined with rust-colour, 
which increases inwards until it predominates over the brown. 
Underparts.—A white spot succeeds the dark throat. Breast 
and flanks rusty buff, with darker median streaks of the same on the 
former, and blackish streaks on the latter. Belly, vent, and axil- 
laries pure white. 
Bill somewhat finch-like, brown on upper mandible and on apical 
third of lower ; basal portion of latter flesh-colour. 
Legs, feet, and claws yellowish flesh-colour ; the last curved and 
sharp. 
Length about 5:5; wing 2°9, the four first quills nearly equal 
in length; tail 2°85, composed of twelve rectrices narrowing to- 
wards their tips ; bill in front *4, depth at base -23; tarse *7, hind 
toe *3, its claw °27. 
The description is taken from the male procured near Amoy. 
We left Peking on the 17th September by the Tihshing gate, 
and, passing the towns of Tsingho and Shaho, put up for the night 
at Changping Chow, twenty-five miles from town. Before reaching 
our resting-place, we strolled under some willows, saw two Orioles 
(Oriolus chinensis), and secured a female Turdus pallidus, Gmel. 
On Sept. 18th sent our carts on to Shihshanling (Ming tombs), 
and walked along the hills at the back of Changping Chow, that 
overlook the valley of sepulchres. Sawa flock of Chukar Partridges 
jumping up the rocks, and put up two Bush-quails, T’wrnia maculosa, 
Temm., in the valley among the beans. Wheat was being sown, 
sorghum and other millet being gathered ; buck-wheat was in the 
ear; and the small beans planted between the rows of sorghum were 
ripening. Large numbers of Kestrels were flying and hovering 
about. Their movements struck me as peculiar ; and on shooting a 
male we found the species to be a race of Falco cenchris, Naumann. 
We procured on this occasion an adult male, and in the Western 
Hills a young male. They agree in size and form with F’. cenchris 
of Europe; but the adult male has all the wing-coverts grey right 
up to the scapulars, most of them narrowly edged with rufous. 
The adult has the inner or short primaries broadly bordered at their 
tips with whitish, rufous in the immature, and wanting in the Eu- 
ropean bird. Both adult and immature have the white on the under 
quills 37 inches short of their tips ; in the European bird it advances 
one inch nearer the tips. I will note this Hastern race as var. pehi- 
nensis. It will probably be the bird that winters in India. 
Among the trees of Yunglo’s tomb I was attracted by a loud 
shaking cry I had never heard before; and while wondering what it 
could be, I saw a bird like an attenuated Jackdaw fly across and fix 
on the trunk of a tree. Picus martius, of course! My heart 
throbbed violently ; but it was no easy matter to bring him down, 
the shot had such little effect on him. One of my comrades helped 
me in the pursuit ; and we at last secured the noble fellow: iris red- 
dish white. I loitered about till dusk; and when nearly dark, 
something flapped violently across the avenue. Crossing under 
