198 FALCO ELEOyOR^. 



two birds in his list of 1861, and assigns F. concolor 

 a European locality in Spain. M. M. Jnles Verreaux 

 and 0. Des Murs have both attempted to prove the 

 identity of the two birds in the "Eevue et Magasin de 

 Zoologie," for 1863. 



In his "Richesse Ornithologique du Midi de la 

 France," M. Jaubert describes four diifei-ent plumages 

 which he says the bird assumes during the first four 

 years. — 



First. — The young of the year, when the plumage 

 resembles that of the Hobby. 



Second. — After the first year the head and all the 

 upper parts become uniformly brown, without any red 

 borders to the feathers; without the head marks or the 

 reddish collar round the neck. This is the condition 

 of the young as described by Gene, and is produced, 

 according to Jaubert, by a partial moult and the wear 

 and tear of the back feathers. 



Third. — After the second moult, when the bird is 

 three years old, it assumes a livery in which '"'it may 

 be recognised as the type represented in the "Fauna 

 Italica" of Ch. Bonaparte, and of which our collections 

 contain a large series, representing various grades of 

 colour, bringing this bird by degrees to the fuli- 

 ginous plumage, which is only a dress worn off down 

 to the shaft, and this it will soon throw oif to assume 

 the plumage of the old bird, which is characterized by 

 a dark brown colouring on all the upper part of the 

 body, and by an analogous tint on all the anterior parts, 

 the feathers of which are edged by a reddish border, 

 with a spear-shaped spot on the flanks and sides. It 

 is by the progressive diminution of this border that the 

 bird becomes more and more brown and unicolorous." 



These stages of plumage are well illustrated by M. 



