174 



FALCON. 



99.— BLACK-THIGHED FALCON. 



Falco tibialis. Ind. Orn. Sup. p. x. Shaw's Zool. vii. 174. 



Le Faucon a Culotte noire, Levail. Ois. i. p. 126. pi, 29. Daiid. ii. p. 120. 



Black-thighed Falcon, Gen. Syn. Sup. ii. p. 49. 



THIS is rather bigger than a pigeon. The bill formed some- 

 what like that of the Crested Indian species, the under mandible 

 being truncated ; it is lead colour, with a yellowish cere; irides hazel 

 brown ; plumage of the upper part of the body and wings grey 

 brown, with a darker streak down the middle of each feather ; throat 

 white ; the rest of the under parts very pale rufous, with dashes of 

 of dark brown, principally down the shafts ; thighs black ; quills 

 and tail dark coloured ; the latter rather rounded at the end, and the 

 wings reach to about two-thirds of the length ; legs yellow. 



This species inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, and frequents the 

 grand Namaquas ; one killed there in the action of feeding on a 

 leveret, at the same time roused another somewhat larger, supposed 

 to be the female. M. Levaillant was informed, that this bird is 

 not uncommon on Sneeuw-bergen (snow mountain) where it is 

 called Kljnie-berg-haan (Little Mountain Cock) but by this name 

 they call all the middle-sized birds of prey, and the smaller ones by 

 the name of Valk or Falcon. 



