FALCO. CERCHNEIS. 27i> 



Adult male. Upper surface and sides of face black, some of the 

 feathers edged with dark slate-colour ; primary and secondary 

 quills spotted or barred with white on the inner webs, the second- 

 aries and some of the inner primaries edged with white at the tips; 

 upper tail-coverts and tail barred and tipped with white ; throat 

 white ; sides of neck and breast bright chestnut, with a few 

 black shaft-streaks on the latter ; abdomen, sides of body, 

 axillaries, and under wing-coverts black, barred or spotted with 

 white ; lower abdomen, flanks, and thighs chestnut barred with 

 buff and black ; under tail-coverts buff barred with black. 



Total length 320 mm., culmen (including the cere) 21, wing 240, 

 tail 111, tarsus 35, middle toe and claw 55. 



The description of the male is taken from an example collected 

 on the Demerara River. 



Adult female. Similar to the adult male and differing only in 

 its larger measurement. Wing 275 mm. 



Breeding-season. Unknown in British Guiana. 



Nest. Unrecorded in British Guiana. 



Eggs. Undescribed from British Guiana. 



Range in British Guiana. Demerara River (AfcConnell collection^. 



Extralimital Range. South America generally to Southern 

 Brazil and Central America to Guatemala. 



Habits. Mr. J. J. Quelch remarks on this species as follows 

 (Timehri (2) vi. p. 130) : — ''The Orange-breasted Falcon [Falco 

 aurantius). This is the chief representative here of those noble 

 Birds of Prey which during the Middle Ages were so famous in 

 the pastime of falconry. It might, indeed, be called the South 

 American Peregrine. This is the first record of this species from 

 the Colony." 



Genus CERCHNEIS Boie. 



Cerchneis Boie, Lsis, 1820, p. 970 (976). Type C. rvficollis (Daud.). 



The Kestrels are, for the most part, rufous in plumage and 

 somewhat long and slender in form. The tail is rounded at the 

 tip and long in proportion to the length of the wing. 



177. Cerclineis isabellina. 



ISABELLINE KeSTREL, 



Falco isahellinus Swains. Anim. in Menag. p. 2S1, 1S37 (Demerara). 

 Cerchneis sparverius (nee Linn.), Cab. in Sclioinb. Reis. Guian. ill. 

 p. 734, 1818. 



