Macleay's Falcon. 



Falco sparverioides, Vigors, Zoological Journal, vol. iii. p. 436, 1828. 



Mr. Vigors gives the following marks to distinguish this species : — 



" The head has not the bay or rufous spot on the vertex ; while the breast, abdomen, and under parts 

 are strongly and entirely rufous. The internal webs of the quill-feathers are grey instead of white, and 

 faintly, not strongly, fasciated with fuscous; the fasciae being indistinct, and the whole surface nearly of an 

 uniform grey. The under wing-coverts differ materially from those of F. sparverius, being strongly marked 

 with black, which colour predominates over the white; in the other species the white prevails, with but a few 

 black marks. The tail in our bird has a narrow greyish fascia at the apex ; the F. sparverius has a broad 

 white one. All the twelve tail-feathers in our bird are uniform in colour and in markings; while in the 

 other species the two external feathers have a white external web, and an internal web with a white margin 

 at the apex extending nearly an inch, and marked with two black spots. Our species appears somewhat 

 smaller than the generality of those birds which are represented as belonging to the true F. sparverius" 



Habitat, the Island of Cuba. 



The specimen was presented to the Society by William Sharpe Macleay, Esq. 



The whole of the upper surface is ash-coloured, somewhat marked with rufous on the back ; 

 the forehead is whitish ; the tail is uniform red above, paler beneath, with a band of black near 

 the extremity, and terminated with grey; the chin, throat, and vent are white; the breast and 

 under tail-coverts are rufous ; the mandibles are blueish ; the cere and legs are yellow ; the nails 

 are black. 



Total length, ten inches. 



