TINNUNCULUS CENCHROIDES. 



(Nankeen Kestrel.) 



Male — Eorehead, wliite; liead and back of tlie neck, reddish grey — the shaft of each feather, black ; scapularies and wing coverts, cinnamon 

 red, with an elongated black spot near the end of each feather ; primaries, secondaries, and greater coverts, dark brown, fringed with white — 

 the basal portions of the inner webs, with dentate blackish markings ; face, white ; a small patch of dark brown from the gape across the 

 lower portion of the face ; chest and flanks, whitish buff, with a streak of brown down the centre of each feather ; abdomen and under tail 

 coverts, white ; upper tail coverts and tail, grey — a broad band of black near the extremity of the latter, each feather of which is tipped with 

 white, but very slightly in the two central ones. 



Female — Upper surface and wings, cinnamon red — more broadly marked with black than in the male ; wing coverts, marked 

 with arrow-head shaped spots of black ; tail, tipped with white, followed by a broad black band — the remainder, cinnamon red with about ten 

 narrow bars of black ; throat, vent, and under tail coverts, white ; the rest of the under surface, reddish buff, with a brown stripe down the 

 centre of each feather ; cere, orbits, base of under mandible, and feet, yellow ; bill, horn color, with the tip black. 



Expanse, 29 inches ; length, 14-|- ; wing, 9-\ ; tail, 6i ; bill, f ; tarsus, 1^. 



This beautiful species, which is closely allied to the Ealco Tinnunculus, or European Kestrel, is found in various parts of 

 Queensland, New South "Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia, but is by no means common in any portion of the continent. In 

 some districts it would appear to be stationary, in others, according to Sturt, following the line of migration taken by the different species of 

 birds which constitute its food. Mice and lizards are also favorite morsels, and are frequently devoured by it when upon the wing. The 

 flight of the Nankeen Kestrel is easy and graceful, frequently at a great elevation, when it may be seen performing large circles in the air 

 with scarcely the slightest motion of wing. It lays its eggs (four in number) in the hole or spout of a gum tree, making no nest, or 

 (according to Mr. White of Eeedbeds, near Adelaide,) occasionally using the deserted nest of the Brown Hawk (leracidea Berigora). The 

 eggs are freckled aQ over with blotches and minute dots of rich reddish chestnut on a paler ground, and are 1| inches in length by li broad. 

 The breeding season is October. 



