8 
Birds of Celebes: Falconidae. 
tawny-buff and crossed with six bands of black; below pale tawny-buff, lightest on 
abdomen and thighs, and streaked with dark brown on breast and under tail-coverts 
(ex Sharpe). 
Eggs. 2 or 3, white, with a bluish green tinge on the inner surface; 51— 52 x 38— 39 mm 
(Australia — A. J. North 9). Uniform white, a httle smaller than those of C. 
rufiis of Europe: 49—51 x 39 — 39 mm: Nehrkorn, MS.). 
Nest. Flat, of small sticks and twigs, lined with green leaves; usually placed among the thick 
branches of a low tree (Australia). 
Breeding-time in Australia. Sept. — Nov. 
Measurements. 
Wing 
Tail 
Tarsus 
Oulmen 
from cere 
a. (Sarasin Coll.) ad. Lake Posso, Central Celebes, 
14. II. 95 (P. & F. S.) 
375 
235 
84 
20 
h. (C 10709) vix ad. S. Celebes, 16. IV. 78 (Platen) . 
390 
260 
93 
19 
c. (C 10710) Q vix ad. S. Celebes, 25. V. 78 (Platen) . 
425 
275 
98 
20.5 
d. (Nr. 6735) cf, S. Celebes, 6. V. 78 (Platen) .... 
385 
250 
93 
— 
e. (C 11293) [9] New South Wales 
435 
280 
101 
21 
f. (C 11092) [5] juv. Australia 
437 
280 
107 
22 
Distribution. N. Celebes— Minahassa (Riedel b 4), Gorontalo District (Forsten 2, Rosenberg 
h4\ Central Celebes (P. & F. Sarasin 11), S. Celebes (S. Muller 2, b 2, Weber 10, 
Platen 8, Everett 12)', Australia — apparently throughout (Ramsay 5); Tasmania 
(Norwich Mus. 6). 
This well-marked Harrier is remarkable for its distribution, occurring, as 
it does, in Celebes and Australia and, so far as is yet known, on none of the 
intervening islands. To the north and west of Celebes, the Chinese Circus spilo- 
notus Kaup is found in the Philippines and Borneo, and, according to Mr. Eve- 
rett and Mr. Whitehead (J. Straits Br. R. A. S. 1889, 180; Ibis, 1890, 43), 
this species is “a regular winter migrant” to Borneo and Palawan. East of 
Celebes, a Harrier [C. spilothorax, Salvad. & D’Alb.) has been discovered at 
Yule Island in the Papuan Gulf, South New Guinea, corresponding closely in 
coloration with C. maillardi Verr. (0. macrocelis N'ewton) of Madagascar and 
Reunion and with C. wolfi Gurney and C. gouldi Bp. of New Caledonia and 
Australia, respectively (Salvad., Orn. Pap. I, 71); hut neither this species, nor 
C. spilonotus, have anything to do with C. assimilis. 
The similarity of the adult plumage of this Harrier to that of certain 
species of Spilornis is worthy of notice. The type of coloration may be 
ancient. It should be remarked that Gurney, whose arrangement of the 
Falconidae we follow, places the subfamily Circinae much nearer to the Circae- 
tinae (containing Spilornis) than has been the custom with most other authors (7). 
C. assimilis is, we believe, a stationary species in Celebes, though we have 
only been able to collect the following few dates of occurrence there ranging 
from February to November: 
