2839] 



of the Peninsula of India. 



77 



I shall, for the present, here place this somewhat'anomalous bitd, and 

 shall consider it as a connecting link between the buzzardy and falcon?. 

 Colonel Sykes, and others, consider it as an Astur, to which it certainly 

 has some resemblance ; but as in Swainson's classification the falcons 

 and not the hawks are united to the buzzards, and as it certainly in 

 many points is allied to Bideo, I have accordingly left it as the medium 

 of junction of the two families. J am by no means certain, however, that 

 it should remain here ; for its small size, its manner of flight, and other 

 habits, tend to remove it. from this heavy-flying family. I have only 

 hitherto seen the Teesa in the more northern portion of the Deccan, and 

 it increases in number as you advance to the northward ; about Jaulnah 

 it is very numerous. It frequents topes, as well as the open country, 

 where it may be seen seated on low trees and bushes, an ant hill, or the 

 banks of rivers, whence it pounces on mice, lizards, small snakes and 

 various large insects and their larvae. Mr. Elliot in his notes says, " It 

 is said to be fond of crabs. It certainly does not refuse them. I saw a 

 Pardee catch one directly by baiting his springs or nooses with a crab. » 

 The flight of the 7\esa\s tolerably rapid, performed by repeated strokes 

 of the wings, exactly like that of the Kestril, for which at a distance 

 I have occasionally mistaken it. Its flight too in general is low. I 

 have seen it several times take a much more extended flight than usual 

 over a rumna, flying at a low elevation, and now and then rising slowly 

 a few feet, and I observed it apparently capture a locust or some other 

 insect on the wing. I possess at present a pair of the Teesa alive, a 

 young male and adult female. The male has much white below, streak- 

 ed with brown, and the brown of the upper parts is not so dark as in the 

 adult specimen. The hides are light brown. I had lately also brought 

 me a full fledged young bird, which had dropped from the nest. In 

 this the head, back of neck, and all below, were of a reddish fawn colour, 

 Streaked with brown. The light wing spot was also of a reddish white 

 colour, and the irides dark brown, in other respects it did not differ ma- 

 terially from the older birds ; has a plaintive but crowing call, consist- 

 ing of two notes. Irides silvery white ; cere an I part of bill yellow; 

 tip of the latter blackish; legs and feet yellow. Length 16— 171 ; 

 of a fem. 17$, the wing 12- tail 6|— tarsus, 2|, mid. toe 2. 



I shall here add a few particulars respecting the structure of this curi. 

 ons bird. Bill rather short, edge of the mandible scarcely festooned, gradu- 

 ally bending from base, nostrils rather small, pyriform,with narrow point, 



