The Lesser Kestrel. 155 



thighs and under lail-coverts rufous fawn colour, unspotted ; under surface of tail 

 greyish -white ; beak blue ; cere and orbital space yellow ; irides dark brown ; legs 

 yellow ; claws black. There is a light buff space below the eye, and the black 

 moustache is not so distinctly marked as in the other Falcons: length 1.3 

 inches. 



The female is reddish-brown above, barred transversely with bluish-black ; 

 wings darker than those of male; the whole of the under parts paler; length 

 15 inches. 



Young birds resemble the female, but are a little paler ; the blue head is the 

 last to be assumed as they reach the adult phimage. 



Fannlv—FALCONID^. 



Lesser Kestrel. 



Fa/co coichris, Naum.-VNN. 



THIS is a smaller species than the Common Kestrel, and is an abundant 

 summer visitor to the southern countries of Europe. Besides the two 

 occurrences mentioned by Saunders, one in Yorkshire, the other, an adult male, 

 captured alive near Dover, two others have been obtained in Ireland, another in 

 the Scilly Isles, and a ver}- small female Kestrel, examined b\- Mr. E. H. Rodd, 

 in Cornwall, may have been another, while in the autumn of 1895 the writer was 

 informed of one that had been picked up dead near Ne^\•port, in ]\Ionmouthshire. 

 It is very probable that other examples have been procured in this country, and 

 have not been recognised. The white claivs of the Lesser Kestrel are its best 

 distinguishing marks ; the adult male also differs from the adult male Common 

 Kestrel in having no black spots upon its red back. 



