19G CALCUTTA SPARROW-HAWK. 



crop, abdomen, and flanks dirty "white, tliickly barred 

 transversely with fcrrnginous bands; under tail coverts 

 and thighs white; under wing coverts unspotted fawn- 

 coloiir. According to Jerdon the iris is deep orange- 

 colour; cere bright yellow; feet dark buff yellow. 



In the adult female the upper plumage is hair 

 brown; the primaries not so dark as in the male, and 

 faintly barred with darker to the tip; the rufous on 

 the shoulder and cheeks is clearer, much the same on 

 the upper back. In other respects it resembles the male. 



According to Mr. Jerdon the young bird is "dark 

 reddish or dusky brown above; feathers edged with 

 rufous, most broadly so in the male; back of the head 

 and nape a good deal variegated with white; tail light 

 ashy grey, with six dark bands; beneath white, with 

 a central dark chin line; the breast and abdomen 

 with large oval brown spots, longer on the breast, 

 rounded on the abdomen; the thigh coverts rufescent 

 white, with smaller spots; under tail coverts with a 

 very few faint stripes. The male has usually fewer 

 spots than the female. Irides pale yellow; feet yellow; 

 bill bluish, dusky at the tip; and the cere yellow." 



In this plumage, the bird, it will be observed, is 

 very similar to the young of the Levant Sparrow-Hawk ; 

 but it is much smaller. 



My figures are male and female from India, kindly 

 sent me by Mr. Gurney. They are in adult plumage, 

 but have not attained the five years old livery desci'ibed 

 by Mr. Jerdon. They are the birds referred to in 

 the table. For the sake of comparison I have also 

 given a copy of Riippell's figure of Accipiter spJienurus, 

 reduced to the same scale of one third natural size, 

 (Vide "System. Uebers. der Vog. Nord. Ost. Africa's," 

 pi. 2.) 



