THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
barred with rufous ; tail rather greyer than the back with numerous dark brown 
bars, whitish tips, and an inclination to rufous on the inner webs, particularly 
towards the base ; superciUary line, sides of face, and throat white streaked with 
brown ; feathers in front of the eye and lores very short and whitish ; feathers 
of the breast white barred with rufous-brown and pear-shaped markings at the 
tips ; abdomen, sides of body, and under tail-coverts white barred with pale 
rufous-brown ; thighs more rufous and irregularly barred ; under wing-coverts 
s^lar but the rufous-brown markings somewhat darker; base of quills pale 
cinnamon-rufous, becoming silvery-grey, with dark brown bars towards the tips ; 
lower aspect of tail similar. 
A pair from Victoria {U. /. maculosa) measure : Female wing 305 mm., culmen 25, 
tarsus 85, Male wing 268 mm., culmen 23, tarsus 75. 
Birds from North-west Australia, Northern Territory and North Queensland 
can be separated on account of their bluish-grey backs [didima). Female wing 
270 mm. to 280 ; males (Melville Island) 230 to 239. 
NesUing. “ Covered all over with creamy-white down.” (North.) 
Nest. A bulky structure made of sticks and lined with leaves. 
Eggs. Clutch, two to four. Bluish-white, without gloss, sometimes marked with spots 
or blotches of reddish-brown or lavender. Axis 37-39 mm. ; diameter 29-30 
(Queensland). 
Breeding-season. September to January. 
Though this bird has no ancient history as a recognisable entity, it was 
included among the Watling Drawings examined by Latham. One drawing 
was named in MS. by Latham “ Ash-headed Falcon,” and apparently a 
Latin name “ Faho canus ” was also applied. The description of the “ Ash- 
headed Falcon ” was given in the Oen. Hist. Birds, Vol. I., p. 219, 1821, but 
the Latin name was not recorded until Gray noted it in the Ann. Mag. Nat. 
Hist:, Vol. XI.^ p. 189, 1843. 
Another drawing which Latham considered a representation of the New 
Holland Sparrow Hawk ” was so confused by Watling, who wrote : “ Native 
name Ooo-roo^ing. It is not a very common Hawk in New South Wales. A 
dark variety of the New Holland Sparrow Hawk, No. 21.” No. 21 was, 
however, a picture of the Sparrow Hawk, not the Goshawk. 
The extraordinary complications that ensued later will be detailed 
hereafter. 
Though never regarded as a rare bird, there is not much life-history on 
record. 
Mr. T. P. Austin has written me from Cobbora, New South Wales : “ It 
is very seldom that I see this bird out in the paddocks, but it is no uncommon 
thing to see them about my house : they appear to take a great delight in 
perching on top of a very large aviary I have here, and in which I have 
some Cacatua leadheateri and C. roseicapilla. I can always tell when there 
is a Goshawk about by the great commotion amongst the Cockies. I also 
have a large Sparrow trap, and strange to say, as soon as there are any 
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