214 



Gen. XCVII. CERCHNEIS Boie (1826). 

 Type Falco rupicolus Daud. 



With the general characters of Falco, but wings 

 not so long and third primary nearly equal to 

 second ; outer and inner toes equal. (Plumage 

 always rulescent ; sexes usually dissimilar) . Size 

 small (length 9.5-15 in.). 



1*313. Cerchneis tinnunculns tinnunculus (Linn.), 

 S.N., i., p. 90 (1758). ["Europe " =Sweden.] 

 Common Kestrel. 



Size small ; wing <J 230-250, tail 158-165 

 mm. ; wing ? 245-260, tail 165-172 mm. ; 

 (J above brick-red, with a few arrow-head 

 black markings, especially on the inner 

 secondaries ; head and neck blue-grey, 

 with narrow black shaft lines ; primaries 

 dark brown, notched with white ; lower 

 back, rump and tail blue-grey, the tail 

 with broad subterminal band of black and 

 tipped with white ; below pale rufous 

 fawn, chest with black streaks, becoming 

 spots on flanks ; thighs rufous buff, throat 

 and under tail-coverts buff, unspotted ; ? 

 above entirely rufous, banded with black, 

 with only a bluish shade on rump ; tail 

 rufous barred with black ; below paler. 



Europe, from 



68° N. in 

 Scandinavia and 

 6P N. in Russia 

 to Mediter- 

 ranean and 

 N.W. Africa ; 

 Brit. Isles ; 

 W. and C. Asia ; 

 in winter to 

 Africa. 



313a. Cerchneis tinnunculus rupicolceformis 

 (Brehm), Vogelfang.p. 29 (1855). [exWiirt- 

 temberg MS. — " Egypt and Germany " ; 

 restricted type loc. Egypt.] 

 Egyptian Kestrel. 



Below deeper and warmer than in typical 

 form, which it quite equals in size. 



Egypt, Nubia ; 

 N. Somaliland ; 

 S. Arabia. 



