14 
Birds of Gambia. 
bracket-like shape ~- , — a shape winch always reminds me 
of Alice in Wonderland's " tea-tray in the sky." In the early 
morning.'; too one sometimes comes on a party of six or eiglit 
rco.sting altogether on some tree and making no attempt to rouse 
themselves till the sun is up. Their food consists mainly of rats 
and other sma'l animals and reptiles, but they are also carrion-eaters 
as well. The head, face, neck and under parts are glossy black, 
the back, upper wing-coverts, rump, upper and under tail -coverts 
deep chestnut, quills, and lower wing-coverts dull black, ii is brown, 
beak orange;, shading into yellow anteriorly and tipped with black; 
cere ana legs red. Length 23 inches. The young are altogether 
brown and have most of the feathers tipped with bulT; in them, 
too the beak is bniwn and the legt? a dirty yellow. Native names 
names are Bibo (Mandingo) and Jakhay (JololT), both geneial names 
for any Eagle. 
Buleo auguralin. AUGURAL BUZZAED. 
liange. North-east to West Africa. (H.L.) 
B. descrtomm. DESERT BUZZARD. 
Ranffe. South and East Europe, India, Tronical Africa. 
(H.L.) 
The ranges of these two Buzzards, as given in the Hand 
List, include the Gambia. I do not actually know them but I 
frequently see birds which I am pretty sure ai'e Buzzards and 
I have recently shot one which I believe to be the first-named. 
This was shot at Sukuta on June 7, 1910. Its descrip)tion is 
as follows: General colour above brown, the feathers tipped and 
mottled with ligliter and having large white concealed bases; quills 
brown crossed by darker bars on the outer webs, white crossed 
by dark brown bars on the inner; tail, above alternate bars of 
light luown mottled with white and of dark brown, below cross- 
barred brownish white and dark brown. Below creamy white with 
a few dark marks, narrow on the throat, broader below; under 
tail-coverts white spotted with brown, under surface of flights barred 
wiui brown and white. The skin of the lores bluish and clothed 
with short soft black bristles; ear-coverts rufous brown Beak dark 
slate, iris burnt sienna, cere and legs yellow. Length 18' inches. 
In the Buzzards the beak has no tooth and the tarsi have trans- 
verse .scutellations in front and behind. 
Circaetus cinerascens. Range. West Africa. (H.L.) 
Length of female 27.5 inches. (B.M. Cat.) 
C. heau(h>ini. Range. Senegambia, North-east Africa, 
f-ength of female 32 inches. (B.M. Cat.) 
C. cinereus. Range. Tropical Africa. (H.L.) Length 30 
inches. (B.M. Cat.) 
Dryotriorcliis speclahlis. Range. West Africa. (H.L). 
A crested species; length 22.5 inches. (B.M. Cat). 
IJrotriorchis macrurus. Range. West Africa. (H.L). 
Length 23 inches (B.M. Cat.) 
