288 ZOOLOGY. 



Family FALCOOTD^. 



4. Falco barbarus, L. 



Salyin, Ibis, 1§59, p. 184, pi. 6.— Heug. Om. N. 0. Afr. No. 11. 

 F. peregrinoides, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. No. 25. 



I shot a single female specimen of a Falcon in tlie 

 Anseba valley, wHch appeared to me too large for this 

 species, and Mr. J. H. Gurney, to whom I submitted it, 

 agreed with me at first in consideriag it a specimen of 

 F. minor, Bon. It is a comparatively yomig bird, just 

 changing the brown immature plumage for the greyer 

 livery of the adult.' The wing measures nearly 13 

 inches,^ tail 6 "5, tarsus 2, middle toe without claw 2. 

 The length of the wing in Falco barbarus is given 

 by Mr. Salvin ("Ibis," vol. i. p;aS9)'as 11 to 11*25 

 inches (specimens' supposed to be females) ; by Von 

 Heuglin (" Om. N: 0, Africa's,' • p. 22) as 10" 4'" to 

 10" 6'" (French measure) in the male, and 11" 6"' to 

 11" 9"' in the female (about 11 and 12 J inches English 

 respectively) ; whilst that of F. minor is given by 

 Layard ("Birds of South Africa,"" p. 19) as 12^ in the 

 male, 13 in the female. The taU, however, is much 

 longer in F. minor, 8 to 8f inches according to Layard ; 

 and Mr. Gurney, on comparing the Abyssinian specimen, 

 with a fuUy adult female F. barbarus, from North 

 Africa, finds that there is no important difierence in size. 

 The chin and the upper part of the breast are white, 

 the lower breast and abdomen strongly rufous, with 



1 In both wings the longest feather is slightly imperfect at the end, the 

 absolute length being 12j inches. 



