280 



THE BIRDS OF PREY OF THE PUNJAB. 



BY 



0. H. Donald, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 

 Part YI. 



{Continued from imge 140 of this volume.) 



Type H. 



This chapter of the "Birds of Prey of the Punjab" deals with 3 genera, 

 comprising 11 species, of what must be far and away the best known of Raptores 

 by name at least. 



All the species in this Type (H) have three characteristics in common which 

 separate them from the members of all other Types, at a glance. The first men- 

 tioned of these characteristics is by far the most important, and in itself suffi- 

 cient to differentiate them and to place them in this Type. These characteristics 

 are : — 



{a) Upper mandible toothed and sometimes a festoon is also present behind 

 the tooth ; nostril circular with a central tubercle. 



(6) Irides some shade of brown, usually very deep and almost black in some 

 lights. 



(c) Wings long and pointed but not alwavs reaching to tip of tail. 



The three genera are :— FALCO, .^ISALON and TINNUNCULUS, i.e., 

 the Falcons, Meiims and Kestrels. 



Besides the above, there are in India, four other genera comprising in all 8 

 species ■v^■hich all have toothed mandibles, viz : — Baza (3 species) which are dis- 

 tinguished by having a sort of double tooth; Erythropus (1 species); Microliierax 

 /3 species) and Poliohierax (1 species) but none of these are found in the Punjab 

 so far as I am aware. 



Now, though all the true Falcons, the Merhns, and the Kestrels can be placed 

 in their proper Tj^-pe by a single glance at the beak and nostril, the separation of 

 the different species from each other, in Falco, is by no means so simple. Varia- 

 tions in plumage from the young to the adult stage are considerable, and 

 diffei-ences in size of specimens, of the same species, are by no means negligible. 



Like most of the Raptores previously dealt with, the Falcons, Merhns and 

 Kestrels are easily distinguishecf by their flight, not only as such, but can usually 

 be correctly placed in their proper species, by anyone who has studied their 

 flight, but it will not be an easy matter to put the subtle differences in black and 

 white and still make them intelligible to my readers. 



The 3 genera and 11 species of this Type are as under : — 

 Genus. Species. 



Falco 



Msalon 

 Tinnunculus 



F. peregrinus The Peregrine Falcon 



F. peregrinator The Shahin „ 



F. harbarus The Barbary ,, 



F. jugger The Laggar „ 



F. cherrug The Saker or Cherrug Falcon 



F. milvipes The Shanghar Falcon 



F. subbuteo The Hobby 



F. sevenis The Indian Hobby 



^. regulus The Merlin 



M. chiquera The Turumti or Red-headed Mer- 



Un. 



T. alcmdarius The Kestrel 



