THE RED-FOOTED FALCON. 129 



feathers . New feathers of upper -parts as in adult male but tinged 

 with brownish and with black shaft-lines, nape chestnut, under -parts 

 as adult male but breast and flanks with varying amount of chestnut 

 often only on basal portion of feathers and with black-brown shaft- 

 streaks varying individually in width and number, new tail-feathers 

 usually not quite so dark as in adult male and with a black sub- 

 terminal band, sometimes clear but sometimes rather obscured 

 and broken and sometimes with some narrow black bars on rest 

 of feathers. 



First summer. Female. — Moult as in first summer male. 

 Crown and nape sometimes much as adult female, but usually 

 paler and more streaked, upper -parts usually more tinged with 

 rufous, when worn crown becomes paler and more buff and upper- 

 parts brownish ; under -parts paler than in adult, sides of neck and 

 throat usually creamy-buff, rest of under -parts pale chestnut-buff 

 and with dark brown streaks varying individually in width and 

 number but usually very prominent and often of drop-like shape, 

 new tail-feathers as in adult female. 



Second winter. Male and female. — Like adults. The rest of the 

 juvenile feathers as well as the first summer feathers are replaced, 

 moult commencing with wing-feathers in June (occasionally May), 

 and sometimes not complete by Oct. 



Measurements and structure. — q wing 230-260 mm., tail 120-130, 

 tarsus 28-30, bill from cere 12-13.5 (12 measured). 9 wing 230-253. 

 Primaries : 2nd longest, 1st 5-15 mm. shorter, 3rd 10-15 shorter, 

 4th 25-35 shorter, 5th 40-55 shorter ; 2nd emarginated outer web, 

 1st very abruptly emarginated and attenuated near tip of inner 

 web. Rest of structure as in Peregrine. 



Soft parts. — Bill bright orange, tip dark blue-grey, female and 

 juvenile with base yellow and rest blue-grey ; round eyes, cere, 

 legs and feet bright orange ; iris blackish-brown. 



Characters and allied forms. — F. v. amurenms (Siberia, N. China) 

 adult male has white axillaries and under wing-coverts, female 

 with paler under-parts and blacker streaks than in F. v. vespertinus. 

 Wing-formula and size, rufous vent and unif orrn dark slate of adult 

 male, rufous crown and under -parts of female are distinctive. 



Field -characters. — Size, shape and flight very much like Kestrel 

 but rather finer build and does not hover so persistently, usually 

 hunts in fairly open ground with trees here and there, on top 

 of which it often perches. Dark colour of male very distinctive, 

 female at a little distance looks uniform sandy-brown above. 

 Frequently hunts late in evening. Of gregarious habit, but also 

 frequently seen singly. Note much like Kestrel but slightly sharper 

 (H.F.W.). 



Breeding-habits. — Shows sociable tendency, several pairs often 

 breeding close to one another. Often makes use of old nests of 

 Magpie, Hooded Crow, Rook, etc., and apparently also breeds in 

 vol. n. K 



