EOSTRHAMUS. 2(j') 



167. Rostrliamus sociabilis. 

 Everglade Kite. 



Herpeioilifres sociahilis Yieill. X. Diet. d'Hist. Xat. xviii. p. 318. 1S17 



(CoiTientes and Rio de la Plata). 

 Hosfrliamus liamafi's Cab. in Sehomb. Eeis. Giiian. iii. p. 736. IS-iS. 

 Rostrliamus socialilis Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 327, 1S74 ; Salvin, 



Ibis, 1886, p. 77 ; Quelch, Timelm (2) vi. pp. 120. 133, 135, 1892 



(habits) ; Brabouvne & Chubb. B. S. Amer. i. p. 71, no. 656, 1912. 

 SostrJioini/s le^tcopij(/us Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 328, 1871 



(British Guiana). 



"Sociable Kite/' "Sociable Shell-eating Kite," " Crickettj 

 Hawk'' (Qiielch). 



Immature female. General colour above bronze-brown, Avitb 

 rufous or buffy-wliite edgings to the feathers ; the primary and 

 secondary quills banded on the inner webs with paler brown and a 

 pinky tinge ; under surface bronze-brown, the feathers broaJly 

 margined with buff ; under tail-coverts uniform buf¥. 



Total length 350 mm., culmen (including the cere) 2^!^, wing 315, 

 tail 1G7, tarsus 47, middle toe and claw 57. 



The descrij)tion of the bird is taken from an example collected 

 at Mahaicoy. 



We are unable to say ^vhat the plumages of the fully adult male 

 and female are from British Guiana for want of more material. It 

 appears, however, from a pair collected by the late Lord Brabourne 

 in Paraguay, that the adult male has tlie entire head, sides of the 

 face, and throat black, fading off into slate-grey on the back, 

 innermost secondaries, wings, breast, abdomen, and under wing- 

 coverts; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills black, the last 

 brown on the inner webs towards the base; u[)per tail-coverts and 

 base of tail while, the latter followed by a band of greyish brown 

 with a snbapical band of the same colour, between which there is 

 a very wide band of black, and the tips of the feathers are fringed 

 with buffy-white ; under tail-coverts white. "Iris briglit crimson ; 

 bill black ; feet and cere talma-orange ; claws black." Total 

 length 470 mm., culmen (including the cere) 32, wing 358, tail li>8, 

 tarsus 55, middle toe and claw 53. 



The adult female is himilar to the adult male, but differs in the 

 absence of slate-grey on the back, innermost secondaries, wings, 

 breast, abdomen, and under wing-coverts, these parts l)eing rei)lac('d 

 by black or blackish-brown. " Iris briglit crimson ; bill black ; 

 feet orange ; cere pale orange; claws black." Wing 310 mm. 



