not observed in the British Isles.' 
87 
taken in Lincolnshire: but we know of no other instance of its 
occurrence here unaccompanied by considerable doubt. Its 
proper habitat, besides central and southern Europe,, appears to 
be North Africa; and it is often sent from the neighbourhood of 
Tangiers. It also occurs in Egypt, where, however, the very 
nearly allied F. biarmicus of Temminck is also found. It is 
certainly distinct from the F. barbarus of Linnseus, and, as 
Dr. Schlegel says, also from the F. peregrinoides of Sir Andrew 
Smith, a truly South African bird. The Saker is most likely 
the large falcon used in the Lebanon and on the plains of 
Assyria for taking hares and antelopes; its nearest ally seems to 
be the F. jugger of Dr. Gray, which wanders occasionally from 
India, its proper home, to Egypt, where it has been called F. 
tanypterus by the late Dr. Lichtenstein. 
We regret that our author has not given figures of the Eleo¬ 
nora Falcon (Hypotriorchis eleonorce, G. R. Gray) in the extremes 
of both plumages; for the only two plates of it are in works 
not by any means accessible to most European naturalists. We 
have heard a curious story relating to this species breeding, some 
years ago, in society on an island off the Algerine coast, which 
was turned into a convict-station by the French government, to 
the utter destruction of the whole colony, every bird being 
turned into gibier by the new settlers. Of the Lesser Kestrel 
(Tinnunculus cenchris, Frisch) we have nothing particular to 
remark, excepting that its eggs are generally found represent¬ 
ing those of the Orange-legged Hobby ( Erythropus vespertinus , 
Brehm) in most collections. 
Mr. Bree has included the South African Red-legged Hawk 
(. Micyonisusgabar, G. R. Gray), upon good grounds; but in his list 
of its synonyms he has comprehended et Sparvius niger, Vieillot; 
Gal. des Ois. i. 22,” and “ Accipiter niger, Gould, Syn. B. of 
Australia, pt. 3. pi. [43.] f. 1.” Now both these refer to a 
perfectly distinct race, or probably species—the Sooty Hawk, 
which differs altogether from the former both in colouring and 
range. Our author remarks with regard to this species, “ There 
is no point about which we should be more rigorously careful 
than simplicity in nomenclature.” In answer to this we 
say that simplicity is not promoted by such an inaccuracy as 
