AFRICAN BUZZARD. 99 



Mr. Gurney for the loan of this egg, now I believe, 

 figured for the first time. 



Le Vaillant, in his notice of Le tachard, says, "It 

 resembles very nearly in its form the other African 

 Buzzards, but the tail is longer and the body smaller 

 than any of those I have described. Its beak is as 

 weak as that of Le rougri, but its claws are larger and 

 sharper, which proves in addition to its long tail and 

 wings, that it is a more successful hunter than the 

 others." 



"It is easily distinguished from Le rougri and Le 

 rounir, not only by the above characters, but by its 

 tarsi being clothed with feathers beyond their middle, 

 while in these birds they are naked. In Le gante, 

 again, the tarsi are clothed entirely to the toes. Le 

 tachard also has fewer feathers on the thighs. As to 

 its colours, the head is a brown grey, brightened by 

 some white spots on the interior of the feathers, which 

 is the general colour of all the under parts. The 

 throat and chest are whitish, spotted with brown; the 

 scapularies and wing coverts are dark brown, but each 

 of the feathers is edged by a lighter tint, which 

 marks it out distinctly. The tail above is brown, and 

 grey white waved with a light grey brown below. 

 The base of the beak is yellowish; upper mandible 

 black, and the under nearly quite yellow to the tip, 

 which is black. The naked parts of the tarsi are 

 yellowish, as well as the toes; claws brown. The eye 

 was a dark reddish brown. Tail square, that is, all 

 the quill feathers are of equal length." 



Mr. Gurney writes: — "The cere, feet, and tarsi of 

 this Buzzard are lemon-yellow; the iris is sometimes a 

 light hazel and sometimes yellow, probably assuming 

 the latter colour as the bird advances in age; a simi- 



