THE BIRDS OF FREY OF THE PUNJAB. 



287 



It is by no means uncommon even on the plains 

 and 1 have seen it as high up as 9,000 ft. in the Hima- 

 layas. 



They build in cliffs, a nest composed of sticks and 

 lay broTTOish yellow eggs, speclded and blotched 

 with reddish brown measuring 2 by 1 • 63. I\Ii-. Dods- 

 worth records a nest he found in the vicinity of Simla 

 on the 30th March 1913 containing two eggs. He 

 says :— " In the present case there was no nest of any 

 kind, and the eggs were reposing on the bare ground. 

 The colouration of the two eggs is entirely different. 

 One— a magnificent specimen is a rich imiform deep 

 brick-red, the other has a ground colour of brownisli 

 yellow, and is heavily blotched with reddish brown. 

 In shape they are broad ovals, a good deal pointed 

 towards the small end. They measure (1) 1-92" x 

 1-53", (2) I -88" X 1-52". 



Type H. 



Genus Falco. 

 No. 12o8. Falco barbarus. The Barbary Falcon. 

 Characteristics. 



Coloxiration . 



Length of male about 15 and of a female about 17 ; 

 first primary longer than the 3rd ; cheek-stripe nar- 

 row ; a buff nuchal collar ; head ashy grey or rufous. 



" Head more or less ashy grey or brown, with a white 

 or buff frontal band, and varjdng to rufous or a chest- 

 nut brown towards the nape, the feathers being dark 

 shafted." Sides of neck buff ; broad nuchal collar 

 rufous, often mixed with brown (occasionally nearly 

 the whole croA^ii and nape are light chestnut) ; upper 

 parts ashy grey -with dark or blackish cross-bars, the 

 bars broad and predominating on the upper back and 

 wing-coverts, less broad on the scajjulars, narrow, and 

 in old birds faint, on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; 

 primaries dark brouii, closelj- banded with pale rufous 

 on the inner webs excejDt near the tips ; secondaries 

 ashj- grey with dark cross-bands ; tail with alternating 

 bars of ashy grey and blackish grey, the former liroader 

 near tlie root, the latter near the end, tip whitish ; chin 

 and throat white, or rufescent, rest of lower parts pale 

 rufous, deptli of tint varpng ; the breast in some with 

 a few narrow dark shaft hues and the abdomen 

 ■nith small spots ; the flanks and under- Ming coverts 

 Mith dark bars, but in old birds all markings on the 

 breast and abdomen disappear, and only arrow-head 

 shaped marks remain on the flanks. 



Young birds are dark bro\ra above the feathers with 

 broad rufous edges, ^^-hich wear oft' after a time, scai)u- 

 lars with rufous sj)ots ; uj)per tail-coverts barred with 

 rufous ; forehead, middle of crown and sometimes 

 superciKarv streaks, with the nuchal collar, buff or 

 rufous, the collar mixed with brown ; quills brown, 

 barred as in adult : tail bro-\ni with equal rufous bars 

 at regular intervals ; lower parts more or less rufous 



