308 THE BIRDS OF GILGIT. 



19.— Circus cyaneus, Lin. (50). 



Single birds seen at intervals during the winter. In March 

 it becomes more common, and disappears in the beginning of 

 May. One adult female, killed while carrying off a chicken, 

 measured :— Length, 21*5 inches ; wing, 15*5 ; tail, 1075 ; tar- 

 sus, 3. Cere, yellow ; legs, bright yellow. One male in immature 

 plumage, shot in December, and two adult females, shot in 

 March and April, had the irides light yellow. 



20 — Circus macrurus, Gm. (51). 



Appears at the beginning of April, during which month it 

 is very common, disappearing about the middle of May. It 

 appears again for a short time at the end of September, on its 

 way south. I shot a female (while devouring a half-grown 

 chicken it had carried off) which measured : — Length, 19 inches ; 

 wing, 13-85 ; tail, 95; tarsus, 265. Irides, light brown. It? 

 this specimen Mr. Hume's diagnosis (See Stray Feathers, 

 Vol. I., p. 160) does not hold good, the third and fourth quill 

 being equal, while in the other specimens it does hold good. 



Two males, shot in April and October, in immature plu- 

 mage ; both had the irides gamboge yellow. 



21— Circus cineraceus, Mont. (52). 



Not common, and only appearing in spring and autumn. 

 An adult female shot 19th March measures : — Length, 18*5 

 inches ; wing, 15*15 ; tail, 10'4 ; tarsus, 236. Iris, orange yellow ; 

 bill, Mack ; legs, yellow. 



A male in not quite adult plumage was also shot by 

 Dr. Scully. 



22.— Circus seruginosus, Lin. (54). 



The collection contains twelve specimens, of which four 

 are females and eight males. 



One of the former, shot in April, is in the uniform choco- 

 late stage of plumage, with the throat and top of the head 

 and nape buff, sharply defined ; the feathers on the head 

 dark-centred, while those of the throat are merely inconspi- 

 cuously dark-shafted, the lower ones being nearly white. 

 The other three specimens, shot on the 13th and 29th March 

 and 23rd April respectively, show, in addition to the buffy 

 patches described above, a more or less complete bro ad luteous 

 band across the lower breast, while on the mantle, back, and 

 wing-coverts many of the feathers are broadly margined with 

 this colour, some being entirely luteous white, with dark 

 centres. The irides were dark brown, and the cere pale 



