ROUGH-LEGGED FALCON. 223 



condaries broad and rounded. In the individual here represented, the 

 third quill is longest, exceeding the fourth by two-twelfths of an inch ; 

 but generally the fourth is longest, the third almost equal, the second 

 shorter than the fifth, the first nearly as long as the seventh. Tail 

 rather long, broad, slightly rounded, the middle and lateral feathers 

 equal, and only two-twelfths shorter than the longest. 



Bill bluish-grey, toward the end black, cere yellow ; superciliary 

 ridge yellowish-grey ; iris brown. Toes yellow, claws black, bluish 

 toward the base. The general colour of the plumage is deep blackish- 

 brown. The forehead and a large patch on the hind neck are white, 

 streaked with blackish-brown. All the feathers of the back, the sca- 

 pulars, the wing-coverts, the quills, and the tail-feathers, are white to- 

 ward the base,. and more or less barred with whitish, or light grey, or 

 pale brown ; in consequence of which the upper parts are obscurely 

 mottled. The axillar feathers, some of those on the sides, and some 

 of the tibial feathers, with the lower tail-coverts are similarly marked. 

 The white forms a conspicuous patch on the under surface of the wing, 

 as it occupies the greater part of the primaries as well as part of the 

 inner webs of the secondaries, being on all, however, more or less bar- 

 red with dusky. The tail may be described as brownish-black barred 

 with greyish-white tinged with brown, there being on the middle fea- 

 thers six of these black bands, the last very broad, the tips brownish- 

 white. 



Length to end of tail 21| inches ; to end of wings 21^ ; extent of 

 wings 51^ ; bill along the ridge i^j, along the edge of lower mandible 1^ , 

 wing from flexure 17 1% ; tail 9| ; tarsus 2^ ; hind toe j%, its claw Ij^g ; 

 second toe l^, its claw li^g ; third toe 1^^, its claw i§ ; fourth toe i^g*; 

 its claw I'^g. 



Adult Female. An old female, alluded to at p. 381 of vol. ii, is 

 considerably larger, and has the bill stronger, but agrees with the above 

 in form and proportions ; only the fourth quill is longest, as is general- 

 ly the case, and the tail is more rounded, the lateral feathers being 

 three-fourths of an inch shorter than the middle. The bill and feet 

 are coloured as above ; but the plumage is of a nearly uniform choco- 

 late-brown, the feathers of the back, and the scapulars, having no light- 

 coloured band, although traces of them remain on the inner webs of 

 the quills and tail, which latter is without a subterminal bar of black, and 



