10 



ASH-COLOURED FALCON. 



remain, which strongly, and most interestingly mark the distinction, 

 particularly two or three of the secondaries, which are destitute of the 

 dusky bars, and are of an uniform chocolate-brown, darker than those 

 on the young- hen-harrier : the tail is much mutilated, but the re- 

 mains of the old feathers are in appearance barred much like those of 

 the adult ; the outer feathers with bright ferruginous and white, the 

 others with ferruginous bars at the base ; but the third feather is new, 

 and nearly full grown, on which there are five dark, and five pale bars 

 alternate ; the three lower dark bars mixed with ferruginous, the other 

 two are dusky, and the light bars which are white at the base, become 

 cinereous towards the end, and the point, with the margin of the outer 

 web, are also cinereous : the greater coverts of the tail are white, 

 similar to those of the ringtail, or young hen-harrier, but tipped 

 with cinereous. 



The premature loss of these young hawks was rather unfortunate ; 

 however, little more could have been attained by them, since enough 

 had been observed of the change of the female to shew there was little 

 or no alteration in the markings of the plumage ; and it had been seen 

 that both sexes were similar in their first feathers. But to put the 

 matter beyond all doubt, another nest was found by Mr. Tucker in the 

 following summer, very near the place where the young had been taken 

 the preceding year ; in which there were also three young birds and an 

 addled egg. The nest was placed, like the last, amongst furze, upon a 

 hill near Ashburton ; from which two young ones were taken and the 

 female shot. The latter we had not an opportunity of examining, so 

 that the exact weight and measurement were not ascertained ; but with 

 regard to plumage, we were informed that no difference existed between 

 the female and the two young birds, which last were only known to be 

 of different sexes by the superior size of the female, and by the tint of 

 the irides, which in that sex are at first dusky, but in the male are of 

 a pale colour. The colour therefore of these hawks in their first 

 plumage, like the hen-harrier, exactly resembles the female till after 

 the first moulting, and therefore cannot in any of its changes be mis- 

 taken for either sex of that bird, now the complete description of this 

 species is obtained in both its primary and adult plumage. Upon the 

 authority of Mr. Tucker we shall consider the plumage of the adult 

 female to be exactly similar to that of the young, and shall therefore 

 substitute a description taken from a young male on the 14th of 

 November, with which bird, alive, Mr. Tucker favoured us, having 

 been taken from the nest about five months. 



The bill dusky : cere yellow : irides so pale a yellow as to appear 



