9;j 



FALCO VESPEETINUS. 



(RED-LEGGED FALCON.) 



Falco vespertinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 129 (1766). 



Cerchneis vespertinus, Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 314. 



Erythropus vespertinus, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. i. p. 76 (1831). 



Tinnunculus vespertinus, Gray, Gen. of B. i. p. 21 (1844). 



Falco rufipes, Beseke, Vog. Kurlands, p. 13, t. 3. 4 (1792). 



Pannychistes rufipes, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. der europ. Thierw. p. 87 (1829). 



Tinnunculus rufipes, Kaup, Classif. Siiug. u. Vog. p. 108 (1844). 



Faucon Kobez, French ; Rothfuss-Falke, German ; Rodbent Folk, Swedish ; Rodfod Falk, 

 Danish ; Falco cuculo, Italian. 



d ad. unicolor plumbeus : tibiis cum crisso castaneis : tectricibus subalaribus plumbeis. 



? ad. supra cinerasceuti-plumbea, nigrieanti-fasciata : capite toto ct corpore subtus ferrugineis. 



Adult Male (no. 1). General colour above dark plumbeous; wing-coverts like tbc back, but slightly paler, 

 and distinctly inclining to grey on the greater coverts ; quills silvery grey above, black beneath, shafts 

 black ; tail black ; under surface of the body blue-grey ; thighs, vent, and under tail-coverts rich 

 chestnut ; under wing-coverts greyish black ; bill horn-coloured, blackish at tip ; cere and bare space 

 round the eye bright brownish red ; iris bright brown ; legs bright brownish red j claws yellowish 

 white, horn-coloured at points. Total leugth 11*5 inches, wing 9 - 7, tail 5 - 8, tarsus l - 0. 



Adult Female (no. 2). Entire head, back, and sides of neck rufous; entire back ashy grey, each feather 

 broadly barred with darker grey, the interscapulary region tinged with rufous ; wing-coverts coloured 

 like the back j quills ashy grey, the shafts black, the inner web of each feather barred with oval 

 markings of white tinged with rufous, those on the innermost being less distinct, the secondaries 

 above inchning to silvery grey ; tail similarly barred like the back, the last bar being very distinct and 

 broad, the tip of each feather dirty white ; feathers in front of the eye black ; throat and cheeks white 

 tinged with rufous ; a moustachial Line, as well as the entire under surface of the body, together with 

 the under wing-coverts rufous, Like the head ; bill, cere, bare space round the eye, iris, legs, and claws 

 as in the maLe, but not so bright. Total length L2 inches, wing lOl, tail 63, tarsus l'O. 



A young male (no. 3) differs from the adult in having the upper surface of the body rather Lighter, the 

 wings slightly more dingy, the innermost secondaries distinctly barred and tinged with rufous, the 

 inner web of each quill marked as in the female with oval spots, all the tail-feathers, excepting the four 

 middle ones, which are black, similarly marked to the female ; the under surface of the body is grey, 

 as in the adult male, excepting a few mottlings of darker grey on the upper part of the breast, and a 

 tinge of rufous here and there ; under wing-coverts for the most part white tinged with rufous, and 

 evidently becoming grey ; cere, bare space round the eye, and legs reddish yeLLow ; claws yellowish 

 white, with dark grey tips. 



C 



