472 



2 



basin alba, immaculata: capitis et colli lateribus, gutture et pectore lutescenti-albidis nigro-fusco 

 striatis : abdomine saturate chocolatino-fusco : tibiae et tarsi plumis lutescenti-albidis vix ferrugineo 

 tinctis et nigro-fusco striatis : subcaudalibus albis fere immaculatis. 



d feminse similis sed minor. 



Old Female (Halle, Saxony, October) . Forehead white, striated with black ; crown and nape creamy white, 

 densely striped and blotched with dark brown, the feathers being of this latter colour and margined 

 with creamy white, and slightly varied with rusty red ; upper parts very dark brown, varied, blotched, 

 and, to some extent, thickly barred with dull creamy white and light rusty rufous, the back more and 

 the outer wing-coverts less marked and blotched ; rump and lower back almost uniform dark brown ; 

 upper tail-coverts barred with white and slightly tinged with rufous ; quills on the outer web and 

 terminal portion below the emargination black, the primaries externally tinged with grey, the 

 secondaries broadly barred with greyish brown; on the inner web the quills are, except close to the 

 shaft, nearly uniform white, looking quite white on the undersurface of the wing ; tail white, except 

 towards the tip, where it becomes greyish, tinged with rufous, and crossed by four distinct and one 

 very indistinct, besides one very broad subterminal blackish brown band; sides of the face black, 

 slightly marked with white; a broad white stripe below the eye; throat and chin blackish brown 

 varied with white; sides of the neck, lower throat, and upper breast dark brown, slightly varied with 

 light rufous and creamy white, the sides of the neck being lighter in colour and more varied with 

 rufous ; a band on the lower breast creamy white, very sparingly barred with blackish brown, rest of 

 the underparts with the feathers on the legs down to the feet white, tinged with rufous, and boldly 

 barred with blackish brown ; the legs much more deeply tinged with rufous than the rest of the under- 

 parts, and more closely barred ; under tail-coverts sparingly barred ; under wing-coverts white varied 

 with blackish brown ; bill blackish horn, bluish at the base ; iris brown ; feet yellow ; claws black ; 

 cere yellow. Total length about 23 inches, culmen 1-4, wing 16 - 9, tail 9 - 5, tarsus 2 - 8. 



Young Female (Wangford, near Brandon) . Head and nape lighter, the feathers with broader light edges 

 than in the old bird; upper parts deeper brown and more uniform, being but slightly varied with 

 lighter colours; wings as in the adult, but duller; tail white, unbarred on the basal two thirds, dark 

 dull grey pn the terminal third, with one broad subterminal and two indistinct smaller bands of 

 blackish brown; sides of the head and neck, throat, and breast white with a warm creamy tinge, 

 broadly striped with blackish brown ; rest of the underparts to the vent deep brown with a chocolate 

 tinge, almost uniform, forming a very broad distinct band on the lower part of the body ; feathers on 

 the tibia and tarsus creamy white with a rufous tinge, striped. with blackish brown; under tail-coverts 

 white, slightly marked with blackish brown. 



Obs. The sexes differ only in size, the male being somewhat less than the female. 



As regards the variations in plumage, these, as is the case with all the Buzzards, are so great that it is 

 impossible to give a description of all the stages and variations of plumage. The nestlings before they 

 attain their feathers are covered with white down. The autumn dress of the young bird is as above 

 described ; and, as in most of the true Falcons, the plumage of the young bird may be distinguished by 

 the underparts being striped, whereas they are barred in the adult. The very characteristic broad 

 band on the abdomen is also a sign of immature dress. The young bird above described is, perhaps, 

 the youngest in my series. A specimen from Southern Russia has the head and neck much whiter, 

 the upper parts varied with white, the breast whiter and somewhat blotched and not altogether 

 striped with dark brown ; the band on the abdomen is smaller ; and there are signs of bars on the 

 thighs and legs ; but the basal portion of the tail is unbarred. No. 3, from South Russia, is yerj much 



