TRE BIRDS 01 PREY OF THE PUNJAB. 295 



MeasuremPMti.. " Length of a female about 11.5 ; tail 4.75 ; wins; 



9.8; tarsus 1.35; mid-toe without claw 1.35; bifl 

 from gape • 9 : length of a male 10- 5 ; winc^ 9. (Blan- 

 ford). 

 Habits, etc. Very similar to the preceding species and as Hume 



saj^s, F. sever us bears the same relationship to F. sub- 

 buteo that F. peregrinator bears to F. peregrlnus, 

 being a more subtropical species with a comparatively 

 limited range of distribution. 



This species is common thi-oughout the Himalayas, 

 but I think they affect somewhat lower altitudes than 

 does F. subbuteo a,t any rate after the young ones have 

 left the nest. Whereas high up on the Alpine pas- 

 tures F. subbuteo is very common in the early autumn, 

 F. severus is more restricted to the glades and slopes 

 in the \acinity of deodars and pines, at about G to 8,0 )0 

 ft. elevation. 



Anything from a smgle pair to almost a dozen may 

 be seen hawldng insects in the afternoons and ti! .'•it-' 

 in the evening. 



I have tried both the Hobbies with birds for baits 

 but never succeeded in catching one, except ^vith a 

 siccada. On more occasions than one, I have had one 

 start from its perch, for a quail or a sparrow, but never 

 has one got to within several yards of my net. 



I have found the nest of this species in Tehri Gurh- 

 wal and agan in Bhadarwa (Kashmir), but though 

 this is the Indian Hobby with a much more restricted 

 range, its nest has not been so often found as that of 

 the preceding species, which is supposed only to be a 

 winter visitor. 



The chief point of difference between the two birds 

 is the colouring of the under parts which, in the case 

 of F. subbuteo is, at most, tinged with rusty brown 

 while in F. sevenis. all, except the chin and upicr 

 breast is a deep ferruginous red, easily distinguished 

 even when the bird flashes past at some distance. 



In Vol. XVI, p. 518 of the Journal of the B. N. 

 Soc. Mr. Macdonald records the finding of a nest in 

 a cliff in Bm'mah. 



Genus tEsalon. 

 Xo. 1263. ^ salon reguhts. The INIerlm. 



Characteristics. Size small, wing about 8 to 9" ; 2nd and 3rd pri:n. 



aries longest and subequal, first much .siioro.n- and 

 approximately equal to fourth ; crown gray or brown 

 dark-shafted ; Fii'st two quills notched. 



Colouration, In the adult male, practically the whole oi the uppe i 



parts are bluish grey, varying in individuals fioni a 

 pale to a dark tint, with dark brown or black shaft - 

 stripes to each feather. The sides of the head, the 

 forehead and the lores are whitish and tlie elicclcs and 

 supercilia rusty brown, as well as the nuchal collar 

 but the cromi of the hea 1. like the back is a clcav blue 



