FALCO JUGGER, Gray. 

 Jugger Falcon. 



Jugger Falcon, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. i. p. 192. 



Falco Jugger, Gray, 111. Ind. Zool., vol. ii. pi. 26.— List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Coll., Part I. 2nd Edit. p. 52.— 

 Blyth, Cat. of Birds in Mus. Asiat. Soc. Calcutta, p. 13. — Cat. of Spec, and Draw, of Mamm. and Birds 

 presented by B. H. Hodgson, Esq. to Brit. Mus., p. 43. — Gray and Mitch. Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 19, 

 Falco, sp. 8. 



lugger, Jerd. Madras Journ. Lit. and Sci. 1839, vol. x. p. 80. 



thermophilus, Hodgs., Gray, Zool. Misc. 1844, p. 81. 



(Gennaia) Jugger, Kaup in Oken's Isis, 1847, p. 71. 



This species, which was first described by Latham, under its trivial name of Jugger Falcon, appears to be 

 very generally dispersed over the whole of the peninsula of India, for we have many proofs that it inhabits 

 the entire country from its most southern parts to the Himalayan Range ; Mr. Blyth states that it is com- 

 mon along the banks of the Ganges above the tideway, but is not so numerous in the lower portion of 

 Bengal; and we learn from Mr. Jerdon's " Catalogue of the Birds of the Indian Peninsula" that it is the 

 commonest of the large Falcons of India, and that it breeds in the neighbourhood of Madras, on trees, 

 during the hot weather: he adds, that it is one of the species trained for hawking, and is frequently flown 

 at crows, in the pursuit of which much sport is said to be afforded ; but it is a bird of heavier and slower 

 flight than any of the other Falcons of India. It is usually flown at crows from the hand, but it is also 

 taught to stoop at partridges, florikins, &c. 



I am indebted to Andrew Murray, Esq. of Aberdeen, for the loan of a very fine collection of Indian birds 

 formed by his brother, Dr. John Murray, Civil Surgeon at Agra ; among which are the fine examples of 

 this Falcon from which my figures were taken : as will be seen by the accompanying Plate, they differ 

 considerably in size and colour, one being much larger and browner than the other, which is doubtless 

 indicative of a difference of sex. Mr. Jerdon informs us that the young birds are entirely brown on their 

 under surface, and that they lose the brown of the breast at the first, and that of the belly at the two 

 succeeding moultings. 



It will be observed that the terms Jugger and Lugger have both been employed as specific appellations 

 for this bird ; that of Jugger must however be the one retained, inasmuch as it has the priority and is the 

 name applied to the male by the Hindoos, that of Lugger being assigned by them to the female. 



The adult male has the forehead, stripe over the eye, cheeks, chin, throat, chest, and edge of the 

 shoulder white; crown of the head and nape rufous, with a narrow stripe of black down the centre of each 

 feather; round the eye numerous fine lines of black, which increase in number beneath the eye, and are 

 continued downwards in front of the cheeks like a delicate moustache ; back brownish black, which colour 

 is continued on the sides of the chest in a semicrescentic form, all the feathers with a slight edging of 

 rufous; wings slaty brown, with paler edges; primaries barred with white on their inner webs; under 

 wing-coverts brown, spotted with white on their margins ; under surface white, with a line of brown 

 becoming spatulate towards the tip, down the centre of each feather; on either flank a patch of brown 

 feathers, some of which are largely spotted with white; lower part of the back and tail greyish brown, 

 the latter crossed by numerous bars, and tipped with white ; irides brown ; cere, base of the bill, tarsi 

 and toes yellow ; remainder of bill and claws slaty horn-colour. 



The female has the head dull rufous, largely striated with brown ; all the upper surface, wings and tail 

 deep brown, with pale margins ; primaries barred with white on their inner webs ; tail-feathers toothed 

 with dull white on their inner webs ; moustaches more conspicuous than in the male; cheeks and throat 

 striated with brown ; under surface brown, mottled with white ; under tail-coverts white ; cere and legs 

 slate-grey. 



The figures represent the two sexes of the natural size. 



