440 

 By R. Bowlder Sharpe. 



The following is the description of a Sparrow Hawk for- 

 warded to me by Mr. Hume under the belief that it would be 

 found to constitute a distinct species. Its habitat is Native 

 Sikhim, and Mr. Hume tells me that he has no less than six 

 others, all precisely similar, and all " presumed" males, with 

 the wing about eight inches long, while a "presumed" female 

 has the wing nine inches long. 



Adult. — General colour brown, with a bronzy gloss ; the 

 feathers of the back somewhat greyish on their edges ; head 

 deep slaty grey; sides of face and ear-coverts chocolate brown ; 

 the hinder part of the cheeks somewhat washed with tawny 

 where they adjoin the sides of the neck ; throat white, with a 

 few ashy blackish feathers forming a streak down the centre ; 

 the cheeks also slightly streaked with ashy black ; rest of 

 under surface white ; the under tail-coverts entirely so ; the 

 breast blotched with pale tawny rufous ; in the centre feathers 

 these markings being in the form of broad streaks, in some of 

 them broken up into bars, forming an uniform surface on the 

 sides of the upper breast ; the whole of the breast, belly, and 

 flanks barred with pale tawny rufous ; the bars of about equal 

 width ; under wing-coverts yellowish white, spotted with brown, 

 the greater series and axillaries barred across with brown, re- 

 sembling the inner lining of the quills, which are yellowish 

 white at base, greyish at tip, crossed with distinct broad bars of 

 darker brown ; wing-coverts above brown like the back ; 

 quills light brown, barred across with darker brown, the bars 

 being six in number on the primaries, not including the dark end 

 of the feather ; tail feathers ashy brown, crossed with four 

 broad blackish bands, on the outermost feather seven, not 

 counting the dark endinof to the feather. Total length, 13"5 



• •Til 



inches ; culmen, 095 ; wing, 8*35 ; tail, 6*8 ; tarsus, 2"3 ; middle 

 toe, 1*55. 



It will be noticed that the sex of this bird is not known for 

 certain, and on this question hangs all the result, for I am of 

 opinion that the bird is not a male at all, but an adult female. 

 The changes in plumage are not the same in these two sexes, 

 for, however much the nestlings may resemble each other, 

 there is a decided difference in the way by which the adult 

 plumage is gained. 



The adult male of A. virgatiis differs from the female in being 

 nearly uniform bright rufous below, whereas in the female there 



