THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Advlt male. Upper-parts dark brown, the feathers margined with rufous, more conspicuously 
on the upper wing-coverts, and the bases of the feathers grey ; bastard-wing and 
primary-coverts dark brown broadly-barred with greyish-brown, the primary 
and secondary-quills similar but paler and mottled with white on the basal portion 
of the inner webs, the shafts of the primary-quills straw-colour ; the third, fourth, 
fifth, and sixth primary-quills incised on the outer webs and the first to the fifth 
on the inner webs ; some of the upper tail-coverts broadly tipped with rufous ; 
tail greyish-brown with dark spots or obsolete bars, the subapical one being much 
broader ; crown of head dark brown with rufous-buff margins to the feathers ; the 
occipital crest blackish with white bases to the feathers ; fore-head, a broad line 
over each eye, sides of face and throat dull white with dark hair-like shaft-lines 
to the feathers ; breast, sides of body, axillaries and under wing-coverts rufous 
with dark shaft-streaks and an infusion of grey on the feathers of the breast ; 
abdomen and under tail-coverts more or less mixed with rufous ; thighs uniform 
rufous ; the marginal under wing-coverts much paler than the inner ones, the greater 
series grey with dark centres towards the tips ; lower aspect of quills and tail- 
feathers grey with irregular dark markings. Bill black, cere grey, eyes yellow, 
feet and legs light yellow. Total length 490 mm. ; culmen 30, wing 350, tail 210, 
tarsus 74. Figured. Collected on the Katherine River, Northern Territory, on the 
25th July, 1895. 
Adult female. Differs from the adult male in having the breast much whiter and in being 
larger. Wing 405 mm., culmen 35, tail 250, tarsus 84. Collected in North-west 
Australia. 
In a pair from Queensland the female differs in having the under-parts not so white 
as in the female described, and the adult male differs from the male described in 
having the white of the under-parts reduced to a narrow line on some of the feathers. 
Female : wing 417 mm., culmen 37, tarsus 87. Male : wing 360 mm., culmen 27, 
tarsus 77. 
Immature ?. All red underneath as described by North. 
Nestling. Seems to be undescribed. 
Nest. A large structure made of sticks and lined with leaves. 
Eggs. Clutch two ; bluish-white (sometimes with a few smears), with no gloss. Ayk 
56 mm., diameter 45. (Queensland.) 
Breeding-season. August to November. 
Latham, in the Index Orn. SuppL, p. xii., 1801, introduced F{alco) radiatus 
for the bird described in the Gen. Synops. Suppl., Vol. II., p. 53, and a 
full plate picture was given. After the description the following note was 
given : “ This inhabits New Holland^ but is probably a scarce species^ only 
one having been met with, which was found nailed to the side of a barn.” 
Latham’s description was drawn up from the Wathng Drawings, where 
two paintings occur. Sharpe, in the Hist. Coll. Nat. Hist. Brit. Mus.^ Vol. II., 
p. 110-111, 1906, observes this and copies the notes given by Watling as 
follows : “ This bird measures from the top of the head to the end of the 
tail 22 inches, and from the tip of one wing to the other 4 feet ; iris 
doubtful : a new Falcon.” And again : “ The skin of this bird I found 
nailed up to a settler’s hut. It is the only one of the kind ever seen. 
The drawing is a faithful copy. The settler who shot it says the iris 
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