154 



" It inhabits the banks of the Burhanipooter and other rivers in 

 Assam, where it conceals itself in bushes and grass, along the verge 

 of the water, seizing such fishes as approach the surface within its 

 reach."— iUfcC/eWanrf's MS. 



Sub-Fam. Falconing. 



Genus Falco, Linn, &c. 



4. Falco interstinctus. Supra Icete ferrugineus nigro fas- 

 ciatus ; subtus dilutior suhflavescens ; pectore abdom'ineque nigro 

 vittatis ; capite nigro linealo ; rectricibus pogoniis singulis nigro 



fasciatis, fascia caudali terminali laliore ferrugineo marginala; 

 remigibus nigricantibus margine Jasciisque interioribus ferrugi- 

 neis. 



" Brown striated Falcon. Upper part of the body and wing- 

 coverts brown, with blackish bars across the feathers, but on the 

 head the stripes are longitudinal ; quill-feathers blackish ; inner mar- 

 gin barred with pale ferrugineous ; tail-feathers transversely barred 

 with black ; below paler, inclining to dusky-yellow, except the breast 

 and sides, which are marked with longitudinal brown spots. En- 

 tire length fourteen inches."— McClelland's MS. 



The bird here described, to which Mr. McClelland has given the 

 specific name of interstmctus, agrees in many points with the female 

 of F. Tinnu7iculus ; but from the observations hitherto made, it 

 would appear that it is entitled to distinction by the fact that the 

 sexes have not the same difference in markings and external charac- 

 ter which belongs to the European and Asiatic Kestrils. The re- 

 searches made by Col. Sykes in the Dukhun confirm the determi- 

 nation of Mr. McClelland. Col. S. mentions, in the Catalogue of 

 Birds from Dukhun, " his being in possession of a male bird exactly 

 like the female Kestril in plumage and size, and consequently larger 

 than the male Kestril ; and as this was shot from a party of five or 

 six perched on the same tree, and without a male Kestril in com- 

 pany, he is induced to believe that there is a distinct species, in which 

 both sexes have the plumage of the female European Kestril." 



The museum of the East India Company has received specimens 

 from Madras agreeing accurately with those collected by Mr. McClel- 

 land, but further observations are required to determine whether 

 Mr. McClelland's bird deserves to be ranked as a distinct species. 



Sub-Fam. Buteonin^. 

 Genus Circus, Auct. 



5. Circ. melanoUucus. Falco melanoleucus, Gmel. Linn. I. 274. 

 Black and White Indian Falcon, Penn. Ind. Zool., PI. 2. Engl. Ed. 



" This bird is a fisher, like the Brown Spizaetus above described ; 

 but instead of inhabiting the banks of rivers, it is found in low inun- 

 dated places, where it feeds, with Waders, on Reptiles and MoUusca, 

 as well as on Yishes."— McClelland's MS. 



