LEVANT SPARROW-HAWK. 57 
also to Mr. Gurney, who supplied me with the specimens figured in 
my book, and who then considered the bird named by me F. Gurneyi 
as a new and distinct species. I need not detail the interesting cor- 
respondence which ensued; but I may give the result. Mr. Gurney, 
whose authority is very high, doubts whether M. badius exists in 
Africa and Arabia. He has never seen it from any locality West 
of Beloochistan, and he thinks the following the position of the two 
birds: — 
1. The larger species, Astur (or Micro-nisus) brevipes, Severzow, 
Falco Gurneyi, Bree. Found in Southern Russia, Greece, Asia Minor, 
and Syria. 
2. Astur (or Micronisus) badius, Gm. Astur (or Micro-nisus) 
dussumierii, Tern. Not found "West of Beloochistan. 
Heuglin considers A. badius of North-East Africa the same as A. 
badius of India and Micronisus sphenurus (Gray); while he thinks my 
F. Gurneyi a larger race of A. badius. He thus defines in his letter 
to mo what he considers the position of my bird. — 
"Astur brevipes, Severzow, Bull. Ac. Mos. 1850, ii., p. 234; Accipiter 
sphenurus, Gurney, Ibis, 1859, p. 390; Falco Gurneyi, Bree, Hist. Birds 
of Europe, iv., 463, Ibis, 1863, p. 464; Nisus brevipes, Seidensacher 
(ova); Nisus badius, de Filippi-Viezy in Persia, p. 345 (?), Hartl. and 
Finsch, O. Afr., p. 84 (nota); Kriiper Cab. Journ. 1869, p. 25." 
Micronisus brevipes breeds in Greece, and I give a drawing of one 
of its eggs, which have a smooth ivory surface, from my collection. 
It was collected by Dr. Kriiper. It builds in trees, sometimes high 
up, at other times lower down. The number of eggs is four, some- 
times three. They are quite unlike those of the Sparrow-Hawk, being 
smaller, rounder, and quite white. 
My figures are the adult male and female, and the young male and 
female kindly sent me by Mr. Gurney, and drawn to a scale. 
The adult male has the upper plumage dark slaty brown, with some 
white spots on the nape and upper tail coverts. Primaries nearly 
black, and barred with lighter black on the basal balf beneath. Below 
the general tint is rufous, lighter on the crop; the chin and sides of 
the head are light slate-colour; the rest of the body, thighs, and under 
wing coverts "barred with ferruginous and silvery grey; under tail 
coverts white. Tail above dark slaty brown, below lighter; the two 
central feathers, both above and below being unicolorous; the others 
silvery grey, broadly barred through the feathers with black. Beak 
black; tarsi and toes yellow; claws black. 
The female has the upper plumage lighter than that of the male, 
and the upper tail feathers have traces of black bands, while all the 
VOL. I. i 
