434 NOTES ON FALCO ATRICEPS 



shaft marks are not more contracted than in the youag Madras 

 female, killed in November, to which I have already referred ; 

 but its greater progress towards maturity is marked by the 

 appearance of numerous new rufous feathers on the breast, where 

 they are immaculate, and on the thighs, where some of them 

 show minute shaft marks, also by new feathers of the adult 

 grey tint, banded with transverse bars of a darker grey, on the 

 scapulars, and by similar feathers (but in some instances with a 

 rufous tinge on the tips and pale interspaces) on the upper 

 tail-coverts ; the older feathers of the upper tail-coverts, and 

 those of the lower back, are dark brown, edged and transversely 

 barred with pale rufous brown. A similar barring is percepti- 

 ble on the outer webs of the tertials ; on the wing-coverts the 

 immature fulvous edging to the feathers for the most part re- 

 mains ; the lateral rectrices are spotted with rufous on both 

 webs, the spots on the inner web assuming the form of bars. On 

 the central pair of rectrices the basal moiety is transversely 

 barred with greyish fulvous, which becomes indistinct on the 

 inner webs of the other portion of these feathers, whilst on the 

 outer web it is represented by partially bar-shaped fulvous spots, 

 the tips of all the rectrices being also a rufescent fulvous. 

 The following are the measurements of this specimen : — 



Wing ... ... 12'9 



Tarsus ... ... 2-0 



Mid-toe S.W. ... 2-1 



The Norwich Museum contains a female in a very similar stage 

 of plumage to that last mentioned, which was shot by the late Mr. 

 A. Anderson in the Futtehgurh District, on 25th January 1871, 

 and was mentioned by that gentleman in the P. Z. S. for 1871, 

 at page 678. This specimen shows, however, a larger proportion 

 of new feathers on the upper breast than the preceding one, 

 and on most of these feathers an extremely fine and inconspicu- 

 ous dark shaft mark is perceptible ; there are also no brownish 

 tips to the new feathers of the tail-coverts, and the centre 

 rectrices are less distinctly barred in their basal portion. 



This female is rather a short winged one, measuring as 

 under :— 



Wing ... ... 12-6 



Tarsus ... ... 1-9 



Mid-toe S. W. ... 22 



The absence of all cross bars from the new adult feathers on 

 the under parts in the two Falcons last referred to, probably 

 indicates that they would have resembled, when in full plum- 

 age. Captain Legge's Ceylon specimens, whilst the abundant 

 presence of such bars in the next example to which I have to 



