06 FALCOX. 



plumage, excepting- the female being less bright in colour— and the 

 fact appears to be so in old birds. I think it not amiss to repeat here, 

 the opinion of that accurate Russian naturalist, Professor Pallas, 

 conveyed to me many years since : — " The Ringtail is extremely com- 

 mon in Russia, as well as Siberia; in more temperate and open 

 countries is certainly not to be distinguished fi'om the Hen-Harrier ; 

 I>oth are found as far the lake Raikal ; and I have observed, more 

 than once, birds that were changing colours, and getting the white 

 feather. The ti'uth is, that the first year all are dark coloured, very 

 differently variegated ; but at the second change of feathers, chiefly 

 the males grow wliitish ; and such are the augural birds of the 

 Moguls and Calmucs." 



A. — Among the drawings of Sir J. Anstruther, as well as those 

 of Gen. Hardwicke, T find a Hen-Harrier of a very pale colour; head 

 and under parts white, the rest pale ash-colour — said to inhabit 

 Bengal, and there called Pustey — in the same set of drawings is 

 one called a variety, probably a female : this is brown above, and 

 cream-coloured beneath ; a pale wreath surrounds the head, and a 

 curved sti'eak beneath the eye ; inner wing coverts pale ; tail crossed 

 with six blackish bars, the outer feather paler than the middle ones; 

 bill black ; legs long and yellow. 



The figure above referred to is 18in. long — head and upper 

 parts chocolate brown, round the lower part of the head a wreath, 

 as in the British species ; on the wing coverts a large mixture of 

 rufous white ; throat, breast, and belly of the last named colour ; 

 thighs paler ; tail brown, the two middle feathers twice barred with 

 darker, and one of the same at the base, the others pale, with the 

 three bars very little differing from the two middle ones ; legs yellow; 

 bill and claws black. This seems to differ from the other, chiefly in 

 ha\'ine: three bars on the tail instead of six. 



