70 
Dr. Heuglin on new or little-lmown Birds 
The bill is longer and not so strong : the toes and tarsi are some¬ 
what longer; the latter are shielded npwards to half their height. 
The species is to be recognized at a distance by its red colour, 
by the ferruginous lower coverts of the wings, and by the abs¬ 
ence of grey on the head and of any broad band on the tail. 
As far as I know, it is confined to very narrow limits, as I have 
only found it on the western frontier of the provinces of Wochni, 
Galabat, and Goara, and in the prairies of Eastern Sennaar, 
near Atbara, where it inhabits steep, isolated, volcanic, rocky 
mountains, sometimes in company with F. tinnunculus. It ap¬ 
pears to nest in clefts of the rocks in preference to high trees, 
and hunts for its prey, which consists chiefly of grasshoppers, 
Mantides, and Truchsalides , in the morning and evening. Like 
F. erythropus and F. cesalon, it devours its prey (holding it in 
its claws) as it flies, after having previously picked off the legs. 
I have never found birds or mammals in its stomach, but some¬ 
times large beetles (Copris and Ateuchus). Whenever the prairie 
takes fire at the time of the drought, this Kestrel hurries to the 
spot, often from a distance of several miles, and there joins the 
great flocks of other insectivorous birds which assemble to hunt 
after orthopterous and lepidopterous insects, snakes, and other 
animals that are attempting to escape from the flames. It is 
difficult to describe the impression made by so strange a spec¬ 
tacle. A sea of flame, fluctuating and roaring like thunder, 
spreads rapidly as lightning through the dry and high grass, 
and is overshadowed by a black smoke, which eclipses the day¬ 
light and reflects the shooting flashes of fire. Amid this 
uproar of the elements, the Bee-eater ( Merops nubicus, Gm.), 
the Parasitic Kite ( Milvus parasiticus), the different species of 
Circus and Tinnunculus are franticly chasing and pursuing their 
prey, sometimes plunging into the midst of the smoke, and for 
the moment disappearing in it. It often happens that one 
of them singes its wings or tail. This infernal scene is followed 
!£!}% by a flock of Storks (Sphenorhynchus abdimii), which, melancholy 
and grave, stride over the burnt and still glowing prairie, seizing 
the half-roasted grasshoppers with the never-missing thrust of 
their bills, or robbing of their prey the unfortunate Plovers 
(Chettusice ) which happen to come into too close proximity. 
