KESTRIL. 



this plumage they remain until the summer of the following 

 year, when an alteration may be perceived in the colouring 

 of the male, even before the commencement of the autumnal 

 moult. The tail acquires a hoary grey colour near the base, 

 the upper tail-coverts also partake of the same hue ; when 

 the moult takes place the brown barred feathers of the tail 

 are exchanged for the characteristic grey ones ; and subse- 

 quently the head also acquires the same colour. The barred 

 feathers of the upper plumage give place to feathers of a 

 brighter and fuller tint, and the black marks only remain in 

 the form of a diamond-shaped spot near the tips of the fea- 

 thers. These marks at the succeeding moult become smaller, 

 and eventually disappear entirely upon the mantle. The 

 irides of the adult Kestril are rich brown ; when young, they 

 are dusky with a tinge of grey ; the legs and feet are stout, 

 lemon yellow in the adult birds, as well as the cere, eyelids, 

 and orbits, paler in the young birds ; the claws are bright 

 black and very sharp. 



The beak of the Kestril is rather long and slender, and 

 compressed towards the tip, of a pale blue colour tipped with 

 dark horn. The wings reach within about an inch and a half 

 of the tip of the tail, and measure about nine inches from the 

 carpus to the tip. The first quill- feather is three- fourths of 

 an inch shorter than the second and third, which are the 

 longest in the wing ; it is very deeply notched on the inner 

 web. The quills are dusky on the upper surface, greyish white 

 beneath, barred with a darker grey. 



The tail-feathers are tipped with cream white, above which 

 is a bar of brilliant purple black, occupying the space of 

 about an inch and a quarter; and the middle tail-feathers 

 are about an inch longer than the outer ones. The breast 

 and belly are white, tinged with reddish ochre, and marked 

 with dusky spots in the centres of the feathers ; the thighs 

 and vent are without spots. 



