28



Capt. Bernard E. Potter,



the females being more of a brown hue. At Brigade Headquarters the

other day I came upon the Brigadier and his Major in shirt sleeves

lustily blowing eggs. On being asked, I readily identified the sandy-

brown but variable colours of our own kestrel’s eggs. He called

the bird the Lesser Kestrel. The Editor and others now have settled

the name for a whitish-blue harrier we see much of—Montagu’s

pallid harrier. There is no other bird like it. Another bird of

similar size and habits Hies irregularly low down and rapidly over

the bushes and hillocks, as if about to alight any moment. This

bird is very dark in colour, but has conspicuous white above the tail.

Also I recently observed that when seen at rest it has some white

marking on the front of the head.* * * §


Another large hawk I first observed a year ago above a village

on the Salonika hills. It swooped down a gully upon a wheatear,

which it would have caught, if undisturbed. It is of very dark brown

hue, but has definite white on cheeks or upper parts of neck.t High

aloft on several sunny days I have watched with glasses a soaring

eagle or buzzard, which is wholly white beneath except the wing

primaries, coverts, tail, and part of the head, which are black-

With still wings it glides for minutes at a time, but the head can

be seen turning about as if watching for some quarry. \


Late last year I watched a fight between a pair of lesser

kestrels and a larger hawk of chequered brown and yellow, as far as

could be detected. § Each tried to get above the other. Finally the

large bird got above, and both dived into a deep ravine. I dis¬

mounted from my horse, and ran to the edge. There I saw the

kestrel beneath its large antagonist, which was pulling out feathers,

but flew off when it saw me. But the male kestrel remained still,

too exhausted or injured to move.


An eagle, frequently seen on the plain where I now am posted,

has a light-coloured head and light patches above the wings, as

noted when it turns in flight. But in the luxuriant deep vegetation,

when it alights on the ground, I have seen only the yellow top of



* [The Harrier Eagle (Circcetus gallicus). — G. B.]



f [Bonelli’s Hawk Eagle (Niscetus fasciatus). —G. B.]



X [The Black-winged Kite (Elanus cceruleus). —G. B.]



§ [The Saker Falcon (Falco sacer). — G.B.]



