283 



observed one of these Falcons on the Pamir plateau. The stomach of the bird obtained was 

 filled with field-mice. Another specimen, a young female assuming the second plumage, was 

 obtained on the 9th August near the Lake Sairam-Kul, north of Kuldja, at an altitude of about 

 7000 feet. Dr. Severtzoff adds that he was informed that this Falcon has been met with on the 

 Youldouz plateau at an altitude of 9000 to 10,000 feet." 



It was met with by Col. Prjevalski wherever they went from Kiachta to the sources of 

 the Yangtze-kiang, but was most numerous in the Zachar country and about Koko-nor. It is 

 probable that the Falcon referred to by Pere Armand David under the name of Falco sacer (Ois. 

 d. 1. Chine, p. 33), as having been " frequently met with by him in Mongolia, and at Pekin, Chensi, 

 and in Setchuan," is referable to the present species ; and Taczanowski informed Prof. Menzbier 

 that one was obtained in Corea on the 6th January, 1887. 



Mr. J. H. Gurney, who has carefully examined for me the specimens in the Norwich 

 Museum, informs me that " the nearly adult female labelled Tientsin, China (B. Swinhoe), has 

 the back plain and the tail not barred, there being no rufous in the plumage, and it is altogether 

 much more like plate 376 in the 'Birds of Europe' than plate 377. 



" Our skin from Athens, sent by Parzudaki, of Paris, is evidently F. milvipes, and has been 

 entered as such by my father. Besides this bird and the male from Tarsus, I do not think that 

 we have any F. milvipes, though it is true we have two others which are rather doubtful — 

 namely, a female from Western Asia with a barred tail, but without any cross-barring on the 

 back or wing-coverts, which are, however, very rufous ; and a nearly adult male labelled 

 ' Hamedabad, Bombay (S. V. Foig),' which is very rufous on the back and wing-coverts, but 

 has the tail decidedly more spotted than barred." 



I have not been able to go to Norwich to examine these birds, but it appears to me that 

 both these last-named specimens are referable to F. milvipes. 



In habits the Shanghai - Falcon appears to closely resemble F. sacer, and also frequents the 

 same localities. During the winter it is said to prey chiefly on Alpine hares, but also feeds on 

 birds of various kinds. Col. Prjevalski says (I. c.) that it attacks Syrrhaptes paradoxus, usually 

 when these birds are drinking, and on one occasion when they had started a hare one of these 

 Falcons followed it, swooping and striking it with its beak ; on receiving every blow the hare 

 stopped, and then resumed its flight, until out of sight, and they did not therefore see the 

 termination of the pursuit. He adds that, so far as he could ascertain, the Mongols and Tanguts 

 do not train these Falcons for sporting purposes. Dr. Scully says that competent authorities in 

 such matters in Kashgharia positively assert that the present species is the female of the Shanghai - 

 (which is the most highly prized of all the Falcons), and is not prized, being considered hardly 

 worth training. 



As above stated, Messrs. Radde and Walter found it breeding on the Afghan frontier, but 

 do not give any description of its nest or eggs. 



As this Falcon was figured in the 'Birds of Europe' as a very old Saker (plate 377), I have 

 not deemed it necessary to figure it again. 



I do not possess a specimen of this Falcon, but those which I have examined are as 

 follows : — 



