98 AFRICAN BUZZARD. 



ence between this bird and that which is named in 

 collections Buteo cirtensis, from North Africa. Mr. 

 Gurney came to this conclusion after carefully examining 

 a dozen specimens from the Cape of Good Hope, 

 Mogadore, Tangiers, Erzeroum, and the mouths of the 

 Volga. 



Falco tacJiarclus is a native of South Africa, where 

 it was discovered by Le Vaillant, during his travels 

 there in the latter part of the last century. He only 

 obtained one specimen, which is figured in his work. 

 It is included by Schlegel in his Fauna Japonica, but 

 I am not aware of its having been noticed as occurring 

 in North Africa before, which makes Mr. Gurney's 

 discovery of its identity with B. cirtensis the more 

 interesting. 



Nepal is the most eastern locality in which Mr. 

 Gurney has known it to occur, but if Prince Charles 

 Bonaparte and Dr. Gray are right in referring Schlegel's 

 B. capensis of Japan to this species, it would appear 

 to have a much more extensive range. 



"The appearance of this bird when alive," says Mr. 

 Gurney, "is less heavy and more elegant than that of 

 B. vulgaris. My living specimen, which was dull 

 brown when I bought it, a year ago, has moulted into 

 a rich rufous plumage, and one that was alive in the 

 Zoological Gardens a few years ago, underwent a similar 

 change." 



According to M. Favier, F. tacJiardus nests among 

 the rocks, and the male takes its turn in sitting. 



I have much pleasure in giving a drawing of one of 

 the eggs sent by M. Favier. It has a strong resemblance 

 to the egg of the Black Kite, but it is a little more 

 pointed, and the ground colour a cream white, that of 

 the former having a greenish tinge. I have to thank 



