464 



2 ad. mari similis sed minor. 



Juv. adulto similis sed ubique saturatior et sordidior, pileo brunnescentiore : corpore subtiis sordide rufescenti- 

 fulvido, plumis centralitei* nigro-fusco striatis : cauda sordide cinerea, nigro-fusco fasciata, rufescente 

 apicata et vix notata. 



Adult Male (Sarepta). Crown and nape pale creamy rufous and brown, tbe bases of tbe feathers white, 

 these latter showing through, especially on the nape, giving the head a very light appearance ; upper 

 portion of the back, scapulars, and wing-coverts dark brown, margined with tawny rufous, some of the 

 wing-coverts with the basal portion marked with dull grey, which shows through here and there ; quills 

 dark brown, primaries washed with silvery grey on the outer web, and with the basal half or nearly 

 two thirds of the inner web white, secondaries dark grey on the outer web, mottled and broadly barred 

 ■with dark brown, and lighter grey on the inner web, becoming white, similarly barred and mottled ; 

 lower back and rump dark brown ; tail-coverts varied dark brown and tawny rufous ; tail creamy white 

 at the base, gradually darkening to creamy rufous towards the tip, only the outer rectrix on each side 

 slightly marked with brown towards the tip, and the outer feathers shaded with grey on the base of the 

 outer web; sides of the head and chin whitish, with narrow brownish shaft-streaks, and slightly washed 

 with rufous on the cheeks; throat and upper breast creamy white, washed with rufous, gradually 

 deepening in colour towards the lower breast, which, with the rest of the underparts, is tawny rufous 

 intermixed with brown, becoming chestnut on the flanks and sides ; under tail- coverts creamy rufous ; 

 under wing-coverts varied brown and dark tawny rufous ; cere yellowish ; bill horn-blue, darker towards 

 the tip ; iris dull tawny; legs yellowish. Total length about 2 feet, culmen 1*8 inch, wing 16 - 7, tail 9'5, 

 tarsus 37; tarsus feathered to within about 2"2 inches of the root of the toes. 



Adult Female (Wilderness of Judaea, 6th February) . This specimen is evidently rather more adult than the 

 male above described, which it resembles, except that it is larger, has the sides of the head paler, and 

 the throat and breast white, very slightly washed with pale rufous, and marked with dark reddish 

 brown shaft-streaks. Total length about 26 inches, culmen 19, wing 18 - 3, tail 10"2, tarsus 3'9. 



Nestling (near Smyrna, 19th June, 1872) . In general coloration this bird somewhat resembles the male 

 above described; but the head is much darker, and the entire plumage also much darker and duller, the 

 feathers on the upper parts with broad rufous margins ; the underparts are dull rufous, with blackish- 

 brown shaft-stripes ; tail dark grey, with blackish brown cross bars, and slightly marked and tipped 

 with rich rufous, most of the feathers with broad creamy white margins on the inner web, so that the 

 under surface of the tail looks white. 



Obs. Being fortunately in possession of a good series, in almost all stages of plumage, I am enabled to 

 show the changes from the nestling plumage to the fully adult bird. Mr. Sharpe (Cat. of Accipitres, 

 p. 178) has clearly made a mistake in considering that the dark-tailed bird figured by him is the very 

 old bird, and that the creamy rufous tail is that of a younger bird ; he may probably have been misled 

 by the Sarepta collectors, who label the adult bird with a pale rufous tail, before it gets the white throat 

 and chest, as being a young bird before the first moult. The nestling obtained by Dr. Kriiper, above 

 described, though its tail is nearly full-grown, has remains of down about the breast, and is clearly a 

 very young bird. Except that it has the tad slightly marked with rufous, this latter resembles that of 

 the dark form figured by Mr. Sharpe. A somewhat older bird from Turkestan has the tail pale ashy 

 brown tipped with rufous, and crossed by nine dark brown bands ; but the upper parts are slightly paler 

 than the specimen figured by Mr. Sharpe. A third bird is as nearly as possible in the plumage of 

 Mr. Sharpe's bird, as regards the upper parts, but has the throat and breast as in the old bird ; the tad 



