20 THE RED-FOOTED KESTREL. 



Another common name for the species is the 

 " Orange-legged Hobby," but it is wrong to speak 

 of this bird as a Hobby, as the latter is really of 

 the true Falcon type, whereas the subject of our 

 essay is essentially a Kestrel. The male is 

 figured in the accompanying picture, and the 

 female is very different in plumage. The male is 

 slaty grey, with chestnut thighs, and under tail- 

 coverts ; while the female is paler in colour, and 

 has the grey upper parts barred with darker grey. 

 The head is chestnut, and the entife under surface 

 is light chestnut, paler on the throat. 



The egg, which is figured in our plate of the 

 natural size, is very much like that of the Kestrel 

 of the British Islands. Those of the Red-footed 

 Kestrel are somewhat smaller, and are not so 

 coarsely grained. They are, moreover, of a 

 yellowish red colour. 



