20 6 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
PLATE XXIX 
DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY 
1. Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides Vigors and Horsfield 
Fal'-co —L., falco, falcon : cen-chroi -des —Gk, cenchris , speckled hawk; 
-oides, from Gk, eidos, form = like. 
Distribution .—Australia generally, and Tasmania; accidental to New 
Zealand. 
Notes .—Also called Windhover, Mosquito-hawk, and Sparrow-hawk. 
Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting open and lightly timbered country. 
It is a common and useful species, being numerous in cultivated areas 
where it does valuable service in helping to keep in check many pests. It 
is generally observed skimming about or hovering over paddocks, crops, 
and grass-lands, every now and again darting down to capture its prey. It 
has a peculiar chattering call which is often uttered in an apparently 
ma !? ne f' F °, OC V choppers, crickets, and other insects, small 
reptiles, rodents, and the young of ground-breeding birds. 
, A e A L ~ l I f ho !i ow limb of a tree or crevice in a rock; sometimes a 
deseited nest of a Crow or Raven is used. 
,; L°- 9S ' Four or five > buff > covered with reddish-brown markings 
Noveniber'or December. VGr ^ ^ “ COlOUr ’ Breedi Treason: August to 
2 Collared Sparrow-hawk Accipiter cirrocephalus Vieift 
Gk ^tephllc, hzld. CC,plter ’ HaWk: cir - r °- ce Pli-al-us~ Gk, cirros, tawny; 
Guinea. ” t,on - Australia generally', and Tasmania; also occurs in New 
SinglfoMiTmirs from? Sparrow-hawk and Chicken-hawk. Usually 
generally observed d ; entln h r open and lightly timbered country'. It is 
about timbered V areaf kln Du° f the ^nund « in and 
ments, and fearless" when in ™ fll ^ bt P ls remarkably quick in its move- 
entirely of small birds The P f lrSU i t ° f ltS prey ’ Its food consists almost 
Nest ~ 6 female 15 cons iderably larger than the male. 
lined with leaves". Grnem'lK^nHce 0 / thm t \ vi . bTS > cither dead or green, and 
° cc t^T^r :of a tan - 
blotched with reddishTiL U * vv * 1I " t , e or bluish-white, sometimes spotted or 
September to December 
