RED-FOOTED FALCON. 51 
goes through several interesting changes of plumage; and 
as the species is somewhat new to us, these different ap- 
pearanees are here described in detail. 
The upper figure in the wood-engraving represents a 
young female; the lower figure is that of an adult male. 
After their first change, the plumage of the males is 
much more uniform than that of the females. In the 
adult male, the base of the beak is yellowish white, the 
other part dark horn colour; the cere and eyelids reddish 
orange, the irides dark brown; the head, neck, back, 
upper surface of the wings and tail, the throat, breast, and 
belly, of a uniform dark lead colour ; the thighs, vent, and 
under tail-coverts, deep ferrugious; the legs and toes 
reddish flesh colour; the claws yellowish white, with 
dusky tips. The whole length of the bird eleven inches. 
The plumage of the young males before their first change 
is similar to that of young females, which will hereafter be 
described. At their first change, they become of a uniform 
pearl grey ; the thighs and flanks ferruginous; beak, cere, 
eyes, legs, toes, and claws, as in the old male. The repre- 
sentation used as a vignette is taken from a young male 
bird that has nearly completed his first change, but still 
retains a portion of the barred appearance of his first 
livery on the outer or distal part of the wing, on the lower 
part of the back, and the tail-feathers, the central pair 
only of which are.as yet moulted. 
The adult female has the beak, cere, irides, legs, &c. as 
in the male; the head and back of the neck reddish 
brown; the eye surrounded with dusky feathers almost 
black ; the whole of the back, wing-coverts, and tail-fea- 
thers, blackish grey, barred transversely with bluish black ; 
upper surface of the wing-primaries uniform dusky black. 
The chin and throat nearly white; the breast and all the 
under surface of the body pale rufous, with dark reddish 
E 2 
