PART IV.— MARCH 31, 1920

PRICE 4/-

SYNOPTICAL LIST

OF THE

ACCIPITRES

(Diurnal Birds of Prey)

PART IV.

(Falconing and Pandiones)

Comprising described Species and Subspecies, with their

Characters and Distr*tion

BY

H. KIRKE SWANN, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.

Corresponding Fellow of Atner. Orn. Union . ^

LONDON :

JOHN WHELDON & CO., 38, Great Queen Street,
Kings way, W.C.2

A

SYNOPTICAL LIST

OF THE

ACCIPITRES

(Dijurnal Birds of Prey)

Comprising Species and Subspecies described up to 1919,
with their Characters and Distribution

BY

H. KIRKE SWANN, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.

Corresponding Fellow of Amer. Orn. Union.

LONDON :

JOHN WH ELDON & CO., 38, Great Queen Street,
Kingsway, W.C.2

1920

aaT ft 4 A*

CPt .4-

PREFACE

In concluding my work on the Accipitres, a work which I fear
has grown far beyond my original intention of publishing a
mere list, I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to the sources
from which I have received inspiration and help. In the first
place I must acknowledge that a good deal of the systematic
part and the generic characters have been borrowed from
the late Richard Bowdler Sharpe’s “Catalogue of the Accipitres
in the Collection of the British Museum ” (1874) of which
his annotated copy, laid down on sheets and extended, came
into my possession after his death, as also his interleaved
copy of the Accipitres portion in Gray’s “Genera of Birds,’’
upon which he based his 1874 monograph. For permission to
make use of the former work I have to thank the Trustees of
the British Museum. I have also derived assistance from
Mr. W. L. Sclater’s work at the British Museum (Natural
History) in so far as his had preceded mine, and his MS.
Catalogue of the skins, which he kindly gave me permission
to use. I have also to thank Mr. Bannerman, Mr. Chubb and
other assistants at the Museum for help rendered during my
studies there. To Lord Rothschild and Dr. Hartert for the
use of the superb collections at Tring I am grateful, and to
Dr. Hartert especially for much personal assistance. The
Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain and a number of other friends have also
given me help and encouragement in various ways in what,
although an arduous and unprofitable undertaking, will I
hope be of some permanent help in systematizing this interesting
group of birds.

111.

• 4. £

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INDEX TO GENERA

An Asterisk (*) affixed indicates a change of name. Italics

indicate a discarded name.

Accipiter 30

TEgypius 4

Aquila 63

Archibuteo 53

Astur ' 19

Asturina 54

Asturinula 87

Baza 106

Busarellus 57

Butastur 88

Buteo 40

Buteogallus 57

Buteola 54

Catharista 2

Cathartes 2

Cerchneis 144

Circaetus 76

Circus 10

Coragyps vice Catharista 2

Dissodectes 161

Dryotriorchis 76

Elanoides 95

Elanus 101

Erythrotriorchis 39

Eutolmaetus 67

Eutriorchis 76

Falco 120

Gampsonyx 103

Geranoaetus 40

*Gymnogyps 3

Gypaetus 62

Gypagus 1

Gypohierax 93

Gypoictinia 101

Gyps 4

Haliaeetus 90

Haliastur 93

Harpa 120

Harpagus 105

Harpyhaliaetus 60

Harpyopsis 62

Helotarsus 89

Henicopernis Ill

Herpetotheres 75

Heterospizias 40

Hieraaetus 67

Hieracidea 142

Hierofalco —

v

Ibycter 8

Ictinaetus 69

Ictinia 104

Kaupifalco 87

Leptodon 100

Leucopternis 58

Lophoaetus 74

Lophogyps 6

Lophotriorchis 69

Loptoictinia 99

Machaerhamphus Ill

Megatriorchis 39

Melierax 18

Micrastur 15

Microhierax 115

Milvago 9

Milvus 96

Morphnus 61

Nauclerus 95

Necrosyrtes 7

Neophron 6

Nisaetusr 67

Nisoides 29

0 to gyps 6

Pandion 162

Parabuteo 17

Pernis 112

Pithecophaga 78

Polioaetus 164

Poliohierax 118

Polyboroides 10

Polyborus 7

Pseudogryphus 3

*Pseudogyps vice Gym-
nogyps 5

Regerhinus 100

Rostrhamus 99

Rupornis 55

*Sagittarius 4

Sarcorhamphusf 1

Serpentarius 3

Spilornis 79

Spizaetus 70

Spiziapteryx 119

Spiziastur 70

T achytriorchis 52

Terathopius 89

Thaldssoaetus 91

Thrasaetus . . . 62

Tinnunculus 144

Torgos 6

Uroaetus 63

Urotriorchis 17

Urubitinga 57

Vultur 4

t Mr. Sclater (Ibis, 1919, p. 777, Auk, 1920, p. 154) points out that,
if the rules are strictly adhered to, Vultur Linn, must replace Sarcorhamphus,
while the logical result is that V ulturidce must replace Cathartidce and the
Old World (or true) Vultures be called JEqypidce.

VI,

A

SYNOPTICAL LIST

OF THE

ACCIPITRES

(DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY)

PART IV.

Sub. Fam. VII. FALCONING.

Bill short, curved from the base, with one distinct
tooth near the end of cutting edge of upper
mandible ; nostrils usually circular with central
tubercle ; feet strong ; tibia much longer than
tarsus ; toes long, talons curved and sharp ;
tarsus short, usually reticulated ; wings long and
pointed ; size moderate, or small.

Gen. LXXX. MICROHIERAX Sharpe (1874).

Nostrils perpendicular ovals, without central
tubercle ; tarsus covered with broad scales in
front and feathered nearly half way down ;
wings proportionately shorter than in Falco.

Size very small ; length 5.5 ; wing $ 3.90-
4.25 ; $ 4.10-4.40 in. ; above greenish

black ; forehead, broad stripe above eye
and down sides of neck, as well as collar on
hind neck, white ; primaries barred with
white on inner webs ; tail with 5 or 6
white bars on inner webs, basal one con-
cealed and subterminal one either obsolete
or a tiny spot ; below entirely ferruginous,
darkest on throat, vent and thighs and

116

paler on chest ; sides of breast greenish
black. Immature with stripes on sides of
head rufous, instead of white, and throat,
chest and breast white.

265. Microhierax ccerulescens ccerulescens* Linn., Himalayas
S.N. i., p. 88 (1758) [ex. Edwards — to Bhutan.
“Asia” = Bengal ]

Red-breasted Pigmy Falcon.

Wings shorter ; ^3.75; $4. 10 in. ; throat
vent and thighs only ferruginous, chest
and breast silky white, the latter slightly
washed with ferruginous ; tail with the
subterminal white band in the form of two
fair-sized spots of white, much larger than
in last form.

265a. Microhierax ccerulescens burmanicus subsp.
nov. [tfThayetmyo, Burma , E. W. Oates,
Hume Coll. 1871. Brit. Mus. Reg. No. 85,
8, 19, 2195]

White-breasted Pigmy Falcon.

Burma,
Siam,
Cambodia,
S. Ann am.

Size of M. c. ccerulescens ; wing $ 3.50, $
4 in. ; without the white collar on hind
neck ; no white eyebrow but sides of neck
with a white patch ; cheeks and ear-coverts
forming a large rounded patch of black ;
chest white ; abdomen and under tail-
coverts pale chestnut, the longer under tail-
coverts and whole flanks glossy black ; tail
with 5 or 6 white bars on inner webs, first
one concealed ; wing quills spotted rather
than barred on inner webs.

* This is quite certainly the correct name for this species. Edwards’s
plate accurately represents the Indian form except for the white neck band,
a point which has given rise to much discussion, but there is no doubt this is
an accidental variation, as in the Brit. Mus. coll, such a bird actually exists,
without a trace of white collar, from Riocour’s collection. (B. M. Reg. No. 89,
5, 30, 48) marked “ Malaisie,” and although not of the Indian race it proves
the possibility of the collar being lost. The Indian form, it should be remarked
has the under parts white (except vent and thighs) when immature, but nearly
uniform ferruginous when adult. The eastern form on the other hand has,
when adult, only a small throat patch and the vent and thighs ferruginous,
with a wash of same on breast. In a large series a good deal of variation is
found in the width and purity of the white collar, and Indian examples in
particular often show a strong shading of black on it.

117

266.

267.

267a.

268.

Microhierax fringillarius Drap., Diet. Class.
d’Hist. Nat. VI., p. 412. pi. 5 (1824).
[“ Indes ” — type loc. sugg. Malacca ]
Malayan Pigmy Falcon.

Slightly larger ; wing S 4.30, $ 4.75 ;
above glossy black ; forehead, narrow line
above eye and down side of neck as well
as entire under parts white ; cheeks and
ear-coverts as well as sides of breast black ;
thighs white ; wing quills broadly banded
with white on inner webs ; tail with 5 or 6
white bars on inner webs.

Microhierax melanoleucus melanoleucus
Blyth, Jnl. As. Soc. Beng. XII., pt. 1,
p. 179* (1843). [. Assam .]

Black and White Pigmy Falcon.

Size similar ; wing ad. 4.25 ; similar, but
having an irregular white nape band and
with more black on sides of body. [See pi.
8 Oiseaux de la Chine, David et Oustalet,

1877].

Microhierax melanoleucus sinensis Sharpe,
Ibis, 1875, p. 254 [new name for M.
chinensis, David, Bull. Soc. Philom. Seance
27 Fevr. 1875, (Kiangsi)].

Size of M. fringillarius ; (wing ad. 4 in.) ;
greater part of crown as well as forehead
white ; region round eye black ; cheeks
white ; no white stripe on sides of neck ;
below paler than in M. fringillarius, but
sides and thighs black.

Microhierax latifrons Sharpe, Ibis 1879,
p. 237 [ Law as River and Lumbidan], tvpe
in Brit. Mus.

White-headed Pigmy Falcon.

Size similar ; wing S 4, $ 4.25 in. ; above
greenish black ; primaries barred with
white on inner webs in <$, uniform black
in $ ; cheeks, ear-coverts, sides of neck

Malay

Peninsula,

Java,

Sumatra,

Sarawak.

Assam,
Cachar to
Indo-
China ?

China.

N. Borneo.

118

•C

and under surface silky white, the sides,
flanks, thighs and lower under tail-coverts
black ; tail entirely black.

269. Microhierax erythrogenys erythrogenys Vi- N. Philip-
gors, P.Z.S. 1831, p. 96 [Luzon, type in pine Is.
Brit. Mus.] (Luzon).

Luzon Pigmy Falcon.

Larger ; wing $ 4.30-4.45 ; $ 4.60-4.80
in. ; under wing-coverts and inner webs of
primaries uniform black in $ ; belly, vent
and under tail-coverts washed with pale
fulvous.

269a. Microhierax erythrogenys meridionalis Ogil- S. Philip-
vie Grant, Ibis, 1897, p. 220 [d Zamboanga, pine Is.

S. Mindanao, $ Samar, types in Brit. Mus.] (Samar,
Samar Pigmy Falcon. Cebu,

Mindanao).

Gen. LXXXI. POLIOHIERAX Kaup (1847).

Nostrils as in Microhierax ; tarsus less feathered
in front.

Size small ; length ^ 7.5; wing 4.6 in. ;
wing $ 4.8 in. ; $ above bluish grey ; head
darker ; forehead, sides of face and hind
neck pure white ; quills and tail brown,
spotted on outer and barred on inner webs
with white ; upper tail-coverts white, as
well as entire under parts ; $, interscapu-
lary region and scapulars deep vinous
chestnut.

270. Poliohierax semitorquatus semitorquatus S. Africa,
Smith, Rep. Expl. Centr. Afr., p. 44 (1836). N. to Da-
[Near Latakoo, Bechuanaland ]. maraland.

African Pigmy Falcon.

Above with head and neck darker slatv
grey ; below with white bars on under
surface of wings and tail broader ; wings
rather longer ; feet stronger and stouter ;

119

[back chestnut brown in both sexes accor-
ding to Heuglin].

270a. Poliohierax semitorquatus castanonotus
Heugl. , Ibis, 1860, p. 407. [Mere Belenia,
White Nile].

Abyssinian Pigmy Falcon.

Larger ; wing $ 5.7 in. ; <J above slaty
blue with black shaft lines ; ho white collar
on hind neck ; rump and upper tail-
coverts white ; tail with 3 bands of white,
except on central feathers ; below white,
with black shaft lines, the flanks washed
with grey; $ head and mantle bright
ferruginous red.

271. Poliohierax insignis Walden, P.Z.S., 1871,
p. 627. [ Tongoo , Upper Burma, type in

Walden Coll.]

Burmese Pigmy Falcon.

Gen. LXXXII. SPIZTAPTERYX Kaup

Nostrils round with central tubercle ; outer toe
longer than inner ; middle toe very short ;
distance between tips of primaries and tips of
secondaries less than half length of tail.

Length ad. 11.5 ; wing 6.35 ; tail 5.7 in. ;
above ashy brown, the head blackish
brown ; rump and upper tail-coverts
creamy white ; wing-coverts with blackish
central streaks and spots of white on
each web ; quills blackish with large spots
of white ; tail black, all but central
feathers spotted on outer and barred on
inner web with white ; sides of face, eye-
brow and hinder part of cheeks white ;
below ashy white, with blackish central
streaks.

272. Spiziapteryx circumcinctus Kaup, P Z S
1851, p. 43. [i Chile , err ore = Argentina].
Spot-winged Falcon.

Abyssinia.

Burma,

Indo-

Chinese

Provinces.

(1851).

Argentina.

120

Gen. LXXXIII. HARPA Bp. (1855).

Size much larger ; middle toe very long.

Length $ 18.5 ; wing 10.8-11.4*; tail 8.3
ins. ; $ wing 9.8-10.3 in. ; above blackish
brown, narrowly barred, except on head,
which is blackish, with pale rufous ; quills
and tail barred with greyish white ; the
tail bands 8 in number ; ear-coverts and
moustachial streak black ; below buffy
white, the breast and abdomen with central
streaks of dark brown, broader on sides,
which are also ocellated with large white
spots ; thighs and under tail-coverts
bright rusty red with dark brown shaft-
streaks.

273. Harpa novce-zealandice novce-zealandice New

(Gmel.) S.N., i., p. 268 (1789). [ex. Lath. Zealand ;
— New Zealand .] Auckland

New Zealand Quail-Falcon. Islands.

Smaller; wing S 9-9.2; $ 9.7-10.1 in. ;
plumage similar ; [scarcely distinguish-
able except by sexing].

273a. Harpa novce-zealandice pottsi ,* Math, and New

Iredale, Ibis, 1913, p. 420. [ Puroah Bay, Zealand.

N, Island .]

Bush Falcon.

Gen. LXXXIV. FALCO Linn. (1758).

Distance between tips of primaries and tips of
secondaries more than half length of tail ; first
and third quills equal, second longest ; feet large
and powerful ; tarsus short, reticulated ; toes
long with curved and sharp claws, the outer toe
rather longer than inner.

* H. australis (Hombr. & Jacq.) being not tenable, the small form
has been re-named by Mathews and Iredale.

121

Length $ about 18 in. ; wing 13.85-14.60,
$ wing 12-12.75 in. ; head, hind neck and
wing-coverts blackish, as also cheeks, ear-
coverts and short moustachial stripe ;
forehead and sides of neck behind ear-
coverts white ; rest of upper parts bluish
slate, barred or arrow-headed with black-
ish ; tail broadly barred with black and
tipped with white ; below white, with a
buff tinge on breast, the chest with narrow
black shaft stripes, breast spotted and
belly and under tail-coverts irregularly
barred with black ; bill bluish ; feet yellow.
Immature brown above, with paler mar-
gins, including head ; tail barred with pale
rufous ; immature also without the black
head and longitudinally marked below.

274. Falco peregrinus peregrinus Tunst., Orn.
Brit., p. 1 (1771). [Ex Pennant— Gt.
Britain.]

Peregrine Falcon.

With the black of cheeks and ear-coverts
reduced to a narrow stripe and the white
band behind much increased.

274a. Falco peregrinus calidus Lath., Ind. Orn.
1., p. 41 (1790). [India.]

Siberian Peregrine Falcon.

Europe,

N. of
Mediter-
ranean ; in
winter to
Africa ; cas.
Greenland.

N. Asia,

W. Siberia ;

in winter to

India,

Ceylon,

China,

Egypt,

Cyprus,

N. Africa,
and Malay
Archipel.

Very slightly larger ; wing £ 13-13,15,
2 14.60-14.80 in. ; chest with a more

122

reddish buff tint, and with few or no
markings.

274b. Falco peregrinus anatum Bp., Geogr. and
Comp. List, p. 4 (1838). [ex. Aud. pi. 16
— New Jersey.']

American Peregrine Falcon.

f

Size similar ; darker above and below ;
the head not so black but more uniform
with the dark plumbeous upper parts ;
below more heavily and broadly banded
with blackish.

274c. Falco peregrinus pealei Ridgw., Bull. Essex
Inst., v. p. 201 (1873). [Oregon, type in
U.S. Nat. Mus.]

Peale’s Falcon.

N. America
(except
N.W.) ;
wintering
in Southern
U.S. and
W. Indies ;
Southern S.
America ;
England
(cas.)

Pacific
Coast of
N.W.
America,
from

Oregon to
Aleutian,
Commander
and Kuril
Islands.

274d.

♦

Smaller than F. p. peregrinus and with
more slender feet; wing $ 11.05-11.85,
$ 12.60-13.40 in. ; less heavily marked below
and with the ground colour more ruddy.
Falco peregrinus brookei Sharpe Ann. and
Mag. N.H. (4) xi., p. 21 (1873). [Sardinia,
type in Brit. Mus. =F. punicus, auct.]
Lesser Peregrine Falcon.

Mediter-
ranean
countries
and islands,
from S.
Spain to
Greece,
Cyprus and
Asia Minor,
N. Morocco

123

Slightly smaller; wing 10.65-11.20,

$ 11.05-11.35 in. ; duller in colour than
F. p. peregrinus and with the dark bars
on abdomen closer together.

274e. Falco peregrinus minor Schleg., Abh. Geb.

Zool. & Vergl. Anat., heft iii., p. 20 (1844).

[ Mtns . of Cape of Good Hope.]

S. African Peregrine Falcon.

Smaller than F. p. peregrinus ; wing $

12.0-13.0 in. ; below tawny ferruginous,
paler on throat and sides of neck, marked
on flanks, thighs and under tail-coverts
with a few spots and cross bars of black.

274f. Falco peregrinus peregrinator Sund., Phy-
siogr. Sallskapets Tidsskr. Lund, i., p. 177,
taf. 4 (1837). [Indian Ocean, off Nicobar
Is.]

Indian Peregrine Falcon.

Wing <$ 11.65-12 in. ; $ 13.25-13.50 in.,

S head and nape deep black, including
sides of face, cheeks and ear-coverts ;
int er scapular y region blackish, with obso-
lete bars of bluish grey ; rest of upper
parts bluish ashy, barred with black ;
tail blackish tipped with white, with broad
subterminal and 1 1 other bars of black ;
thioat and chest deep creamy buff, latter
with a few black shaft stripes ; below
buffy white closely and narrowly barred
with black, the sides and thighs tinged with
grey ; $ more ferruginous below and with
the cross bars more irregular.

27 4g. Falco peregrinus macropus Swains., Anim. E. and W.
in Menag., p. 341 (Jan. 1838). [Tasmania] Australia,
[=F. p. melanogenys Gould.] Tasmania.

Black-cheeked Falcon.

Size similar; wing $ 11.6 in.; darker
above ; chest much more rufous ; under
wing-coverts and axillaries more closely

Africa,
from Cape
Colony to
the

Blue Nile.

Indian
Peninsula ;
E. to S.
China.

124

bared with black, the white inter-bars
more rufous ; under tail-coverts and thighs
barred with bluish grey and black, instead
of whitish and black.

274h. Falco peregrinus ernesti Sharpe, Ibis, 1904,
p. 545. \Mt. Dulit, type in Brit. Mus.]
Hose’s Falcon.

Slightly larger ; wing $ 12, § 13.5 in. ;
entire head, including cheeks and ear-
coverts, hind neck, interscapulary region
and least wing-coverts deep black ; rest
of upper parts dark bluish ashy, barred
and spotted with black ; tail with the
apical quarter black, rest bluish ashy,
barred with black ; under parts marked
much as in F. p. macropus , but the bars
broader and the lower parts with a pro-
nounced grey shade.

274i. Falco peregrinus cassini Sharpe, Ann. &
Mag. N.H. (4), xi., p. 223 (1873). [Mag-
gellan Str. and Falkland /s.]

Cassin’s Falcon.

Immature <$ [Tring Mus.]. Wing 9 in. ;
above black with remains of rufous edg-
ings ; an indistinct collar on hind neck
pale rufous ; upper tail-coverts with broad
ashy margins ; tail slate, tipped buffy
white and indistinctly barred with black ;
throat white, sides of head and moustachial
patch black ; below rufous fawn, narrowly
striated with black.

275. Falco fasciinucha Reichen. and Neum.,
Orn. M.B. iii., p. 114 (1895). [ Teita , E.

Africa ,]

Kilimanjaro Falcon.

Borneo,

Greater

Sunda Is.,

Philippine

Islands,

NewGuinea

Fiji Islands

Chile,

Falkland

Islands.

E. Africa
(Kiliman-
jaro

district) .

125

Smaller than F. p. per egr inns ; wing £
10.95-11.40, ? 11.10-11.60 in. ; above much
paler bluish grey, the cross bars fainter ;
crown dusky brown instead of black, the
fore part tinged with rufous ; entire hind
neck rusty red, with some dusky mottlings;
fore part of ear-coverts and cheek stripe
blackish ; throat and sides of neck huffish
white ; below pale buffy fawn, breast
unspotted, but sides with a few blackish
spots, becoming bars on under wing and
tail-coverts. Younger birds dark brown
above, with rufous margins ; hind neck
creamy white, tinged with rufous ; below
creamy white, breast and flanks streaked
with brown, more broadly on the latter.

276. Falco pelegrinoides pelegrinoides Temm.,
PL Col. 479 (1830?) [Nubia] [ == F. bar-
bar us Linn. ? and F. punicus Levaill. jun.]
Barbary Falcon.

Said to be darker above. [Doubtful
form.]

276a. Falco pelegrinoides arabicus Erlanger,
J.f.O. 1903, p. 293 [ Lahadsch , type in
Berlin Mus.]

Larger ; wing $ 12, 9 13 in. ; above lighter
bluish grey ; fore part of crown more
rufous ; hind part of crown greyish black ;
nape and hind neck clear rufous, with
darker centres to many of the feathers ;
below buffy white, with arrow-head brown
spots on centre of belly and bars on the
sides ; throat and chest unspotted.

N. Africa
(N. of the
Sahara)
from W.
Morocco
to Egypt ;
in winter
S. to

Khartoum.

126

276b. Falco pelegrinoides babylonicus Gurney,
Ibis, 1861, p. 218, pi. vii. [ Oudh , type in
Norwich Mus.]

Red-capped Falcon.

Size similar ; wing £ 12, $ 14 in. ; fore-
head whitish ; fore part of crown black ;
rest of crown and nape brick-red, with
black shaft stripes ; moustachial stripe,
feathers round eye and band down side
of neck black ; above dark brown, barred,
except on interscapulary region, with blue-
grey, inclining to fulvous on scapulars and
secondaries and more regular and paler
grey on rump ; tail regularly barred with
fulvous grey and blackish brown ; below
vinous buffish, warmer on breast ; streaked
on chest and slightly spotted on sides with
blackish in most birds, but nearly un-
spotted in oldest examples.

277. Falco biar miens biarmicusTemm. , PI. Col.
livr. 55, pi. 324 (1825). [ Kaffirland and

Cape Colony .]

South African Lanner.

Slightly larger ; wing $ 12.35-12.85,
$ 14-14.75 in. ; above darker and more
uniform ; nape less rufous; slightly more
spotted below, but with the ground colour
more buffish white, and the chest as a rule
free from markings.

C. Asia,
from

Turkestan
and E.
Persia to
Afghani-
stan and
N.W. India;
Mesopo-
tamia ; in
winter S. to
India ; also
to Sudan
in Africa.

S. Africa,
N. to

Angola and
E. Africa.

127

277a. Valeo biarmicus tanypterus Schleg., Krit.
Uebers. ii., p. 11 (1844). [ Nubia and

Abyssinia ; restricted type loc. Nubia.]
Nubian Lanner.

Very slightly larger ; wing A 12.90-13.60 ;
$ 14.35-14.85 in. ; lower parts more
heavily spotted with black.

277b. Falco biarmicus abyssinicus Neum., J.f.O.
1904, p. 369. [Shoa ; type in Tring Mus.]
Abyssinian Lanner.

Similar to F. b. feldeggii, but paler and less
marked with blackish on crown, also
slightly smaller ; wing A 12.20-12.80,
$ 13.35-14.25 in.

277c. Falco biarmicus erlangeri Kleinschm.,
Aquila, viii., p. 33 (1901). [ Tunis and

Tangier, N. Morocco, types in Klein-
schmidt’s coll.]

North African Lanner.

Size about the same ; wing A 12.20-12.90 ;
$ 13.65-14.10 in. ; with the under parts
much more heavily spotted than in F. b.
biarmicus and the ground colour more
creamy white ; crown and nape creamy
rufous.

277d. Falco biarmicus feldeggii Schleg., in Vogel
Europas von Susemihl, tafl. 8a (1843 or
1844) ; idem Abh. Geb. Zool. iii., p. 2-3
(1844). [Dalmatia.]

European Lanner.

Larger; wing^ 13.85-14.70, ? 15.45-16.60
in. ; head pale rufous to rufous white,

Nubia,

Egypt,

Arabia,

Palestine.

Abyssinia,
Shoa,
Gallaland,
Blue and
White
Niles,
Sudan to
Hausa land
& Togoland

N. Africa
(Atlas
district
from Tunis
to W.
Morocco) .

S. Europe
(Balkan
countries
[not ex-
tending to
Russia],

S. Italy.

128

with narrow blackish shaft stripes ; above
earthy brown, all the feathers margined
with rufous ; quills with the white bars
on inner webs uniting on the margins ;
tail barred with rufous white on the inner
webs and with oval spots on the outer webs;
sides of face and throat white, with dusky
streaks on ear-coverts, but little indication
of a blackish moustache ; below whitish,
the chest slightly and breast and belly
thickly marked with blackish brown, more
in form of bars on flanks. Immature :
very little rufous on head ; moustache
stripe more apparent ; tail with the central
feathers generally unmarked ; below more
heavily and longitudinally marked.

278. Falco cherrug cherrug Gray, in Hardw. S.E.

Ind. Zool. ii. , pi. 25 (1833-34). [India] Europe
Saker Falcon. (Balkan

Penin. and
S. Russia) ;
Cyprus
(cas.)

C. Asia ; to
N.W. India
and China
in winter.

Size similar ; more barred above with pale
rufous ; tail regularly and closely barred
across centre feathers, not marked with
oval spots.

278a. Falco cherrug milvipes Hodgs., Gray’s
Zool. Misc., p. 81 (1844) [nom. nud.] ;
Jerdon, Ibis, 1871, p. 240. [ Umballa ,
India.]

Hodgson’s Saker.

High pla-
teaux of
Central
Asia :
Thibet ;
Mongolia ;
Nepal ;
Baluchis-
tan ; China ;
in winter S.
to India.

129

Smaller ; wing S 12.50-13.0, $ 14-14.60 in.;
feathers of crown dull rufous, with blackish
brown centres ; nape rather paler and
mottled with black ; above ashy brown,
with pale fulvous margins ; rump paler
and clearer grey ; tail ashy grey, tipped
with white ; the outer feathers barred on
inner web with whitish ashy ; below
white, with narrow black moustachial
stripe ; lower breast with a few dark shaft-
streaks, flanks and thighs ashy brown.

279. Falco jugger Gray, in Hardw. 111. Ind.
Zool. ii. , pi. 26 (1833-4). [India.]

Laggar Falcon.

Size similar ; wing $ 12-13, $ 13-14 in. ;
above brown, with paler fulvous margins ;
crown and nape with whitish margins ;
tail tipped with white and all but the centre
pair of feathers barred on inner webs with
whitish, but outer webs scarcely spotted ;
below white, chest streaked and breast and
belly spotted with brown, more in form
of bars on flanks.

280. Falco mexicanus Schleg., Abh. Geb. Zool.
heft iii., p. 15 (1844). [ex. Licht. — Mexico J
Prairie Falcon.

Size small ; wing $ 10.6 in. ; above ashy,
with indistinct fulvous margins and black-
ish shaft-stripes, especially distinct on
head and nape, latter of which is whitish
tinged with rufous ; tail with broad ful-
vous tip, and some obsolete black bars at
apical end ; below white, tinged with buff
on flanks and vent, and with narrow
blackish shaft-streaks, except on throat.

Indian
Peninsula
Baluchis-
tan ;
Assam.

W. North

America,

from

S. Brit.

Columbia

to

S. Mexico.

130

281 Valeo hypoleucus Gould, P.Z.S. 1840, p.
162 (1841). [60 miles from Swan River,

W. Australia.]

Grey Falcon.

Size large ; wing ^14.3, $15. 8 in. ; general
colour blackish brown ; forehead and
sides of head and neck and under tail-
coverts mottled with white ; throat white,
streaked with brown ; breast slightly
spotted with buff ; tail barred.

282. Falco subniger subnig er Gray, Ann. Mag.
N.H. xi., p. 371 (1843). [Victoria.]

Black Falcon.

Without bars on tail.

282a. Falco subniger minnie Math., Austr. Av.
Rec. ii., p. 127 (1915). [Queensland.]
Queensland Black Falcon.

Size large ; wing ^13.60-14.80, $ 15.25-16
in. ; head blackish grey ; above dark
slate grey barred with pale bluish grey ;
wings and tail browner, latter barred with
bluish grey and tipped with white ; below
white with a broad slate brown mousta-
ch-ial stripe, the breast and abdomen with
drop-shaped stripes and flanks barred ;
bill bluish, tip black ; feet yellow.

283. Falco rusticolus rusticclus Linn., S.N. i., p.
88 (1758). [Sweden.]

Norwegian Gyrfalcon.

Larger ; wing c? 14.5, $16 in. ; above dark
slate, barred with greyish white, the head
streaked with dusky slate and huffish
white ; chin and throat white ; below
white, chest streaked and belly and sides
spotted with slaty black.

Australia.

Australia.

Queens-

land.

N. Sweden
& Norway ;
Lapland ;

N. Russia ;
S. in winter
to middle
Europe.

131

283a. Falco rusticolus islandus [partim\ Briin-
nich, Orn. Bor., p. 2 (1764). [Iceland. J
Iceland Falcon.

Size similar ; much darker above and be-
low ; above more sooty and with trans-
verse markings darker ; rump uniform
without markings ; thighs dark slaty,
with buffy white transverse spots. Im-
mature : very much darker ; uniform

dusky brown above.

283b. Falco rusticolus cbsoletus Gmel., S.N. i.,
p. 268 (1789). CFreto Hudsonis”] [=F.
labradorius, auct.J
Labrador Falcon.

Iceland and
S. Green-
land, S. in
winter to
Brit. Isles,
Europe and
N.E.
America.

Labrador

Newfound-

land.

283c.

Very slightly larger ; wing 14.35-14.90,
$ 16-17 in. ; general colour white, the
feathers above marked with a slaty black
spot towards tip ; tail pure white and
head nearly so ; below with slight stria-
tions on flanks only. Immature : mark-
ings much heavier and browner ; head
with dark stripes and tail with transverse
dark markings.

Falco rusticolus candicans* Gmel., S.N. i.,
p. 275 (1789). [“ Islandia et Scotia,” er-

rore, type loc. subst. Hartert — Greenland .]
Greenland Falcon.

%

Greenland
& Arctic
America ;
in winter to
Brit. Isles ;
N.W.
Europe ;
Northern
United
States.

* The Gyrfalcons visiting Canada and the Northern United States in
winter appear to be dark immature birds of this form, and not F. r. rusticolus
as stated in the A.O.U. Cneck List (1910).

132

[Not seen]. Size slightly larger and tail
longer than in F. r. rustieolus ; wing $
14.7-15.5 ; $ 15.8-17 in. ; (Sewertz).

283d. Falco rustieolus uralensis (Sewertz. and
Menzb.) Orn. Geogr. Europ. Russl., L,
p. 288, tab. 3 (1882). [ Ural Mtns.

Russia .]

Ural Gyrfalcon.

N. Asia
from the
Ural Mtns.
to Kamt-
schatka
and

Bering Is.f

Wing S 14.6 ; differs from F. r. rustieolus
in having upper parts reddish brown
washed with ash, under parts ochraceous
with tear-shaped dark brown stripes ;
tail brown, tipped with pale ochreous, the
two middle feathers unbarred, rest with
indistinct oval transverse reddish brown
spots ; tarsus bare for more than half its
length. (Dresser). [Not seen.]

284. Falco altaicus (Menzb.), Orn. 'Turkestan, Mountain
i., p. 272 (1892). [Altai and Minusinsk .] ranges of
Altai Gyrfalcon. Central

[i7. lorenzi (Menzb.) a synonym.] Asia;

West

Siberia.

Size small ; wing A 10-10.50, $ 10.75-11 in.;
above dark slate grey, darker on head and
paler on rump ; hinder part of cheeks and
sides of neck buffy white, with well-defined
black moustachial stripe below ; nuchal
collar reddish white ; tail slate grey, all
but middle pair of feathers barred on
inner webs with ferruginous ; below
creamy white, striped on breast and flanks
with black ; thighs and under tail-coverts
rust-red.

t Hierofalco grebnitzkii Sewertz. and Menzb., described from Bering
Island, is probably synonymous with this form.

133

285. Falco subbuteo subbuteo Linn., S. N., i., p.
89 (1758.) [“ Europe ” = Sweden.]

Hobby.

Size scarcely larger ; above paler ; below
with the stripes rather smaller.

285a. Falco subbuteo jugurtha Hart, and Neum.,
J.f.O., 1907, p. 591. [Tangier.] [=F.
gracilis , auct.]

North African Hobby.

Paler above and with slightly longer wings
than F. s. subbuteo ; wing of $ nearly
equal to wing of $ of typical form.

285b. Falco subbuteo centralasice (Buturl.) Orn.
Mitt, ii., p. 175 (1911). [ Baimgol , Tianshan]
[ =F. s. cyanescens Lonnberg.j
Central Asian Hobby.

Slightly larger than F. s. subbuteo ; wing
<3 about 10.75 in. ; darker and more
heavily marked below.

285c. Falco subbuteo jakutensis (Buturl.) , Nascha
Ochota, 4. 6, p. 71 (1910). [New name for
his F. saturatus, type loc. T schuktschen-
Bezirk, N .E. Siberia.]

Kamtschatkan Hobby.

Similar to F. s. subbuteo, but smaller ;
wing (J 9.40-9.75, $ 9.85-10.15 in.

285d. Falco subbuteo streichi Hart & Neum.,
J.f.O., 1907, p. 592. [S. China — Swatow.]

Chinese Hobby.

Europe ;
from Scan-
dinavia and
Brit. Isles
to Mediter-
ranean ;

W. Siberia ;
in winter S.
to Africa &
N.W. India.

Tunis,

Algeria,

Morocco,

Central
Asia, S. to
Chinese
Turkestan
and Assam.

E. Asia and
Kamt-
schatka ;

S. in winter
to Japan &
N. China.

|China, from
Kwang-
tung Prov.

N. to
Shensi.

134

[Not seen.]

285e. Falco subbuteo erkutensis Johansen, Orn.
Jahr., xxv., p. 83 (1915). [ Irkutsk Gov.}

Siberian Hobby.

Wing $ 9.60-10, $ 9.75-10 in. ; sexes dis-
similar ; $ above dark plumbeous ; tail
black ; below blue-grey with faint blackish
shaft-stripes ; thighs, vent and under tail-
coverts chestnut ; under wing-coverts
greyish black ; cere and feet brownish
red ; $ head and neck rufous ; above ashy
grey, barred with darker grey ; primaries
barred with reddish white on inner webs ;
throat and cheeks reddish white ; below
rufous.

286. Falco vespertinus vespertinus Linn., S.N.
ed. xii., i., p. 129 (1766). [“ Ingria”

=Prov. St. Petersburg .]

Red-footed Falcon.

Smaller ; wing $ 9.25-9.70 in. ; S under
wing-coverts pure white, instead of greyish
black ; feet orange ; $ head browner and
below paler rufous, the breast white
broadly streaked with black, becoming
bars on the flanks.

286a. Falco vespertinus amurensis Radde, Reisen
S. von O. Sibir., ii., p. 102 (1863). [Amur.]
Eastern Red-footed Falcon.

* Hartert considers F. v. obscurus Tschusi from W.
synonym.

Siberia ;
Irkutsk
Govt.

E. and C.
Europe, N.
to Sweden
and

Archangel ;
W. Siberia*
Asia Minor;
cas.

Brit. Isles ;
in winter S.
to Africa.

S.E.

Siberia ;
Mongolia,
N. China ;
in winter to
India and
E. Africa.

Siberia to be a

135

Larger ; wing $ 12.40-12.90 ; ? 12-90-
13.35 in. ; sexes dissimilar ; $ general

colour blackish slate, browner on upper
parts ; outer tail-feathers slightly barred
with blackish ; below with a trace of
rufous, but the thighs dark slate ; $ dark
slate brown above, tail barred with rufous
and blackish ; hind cheeks and throat deep
buff, with a conspicuous black moustachial
stripe ; breast buffish, becoming rufous on
abdomen, striped with black ; thighs deep
chestnut.

287. Falco eleonorcz Gene, Rev. Zool., 1839, p.
105. [Sardinia.]

Eleonora’s Falcon.

Islands of
Mediter-
ranean ; W.
Canaries ;
N. Africa,
Algeria to
Morocco ;
in winter S.
to Mada-
gascar.

288.

Smaller ; wing $ 10.40, $ 11.2 in. ; sexes
similar ; uniform leaden grey with black
shaft-stripes to the feathers ; primaries
and tail with whitish bands on inner webs ;
cere, orbits and feet bright yellow ; bill
bluish.

Falco concolor Temm. PI. Col., pi. 330
(1825). [“Senegal, Cotes de Barberie, Egypt,
Arabia — typ. loc. sugg. : Arabia.] [F.
eleonorce schistaceus Erlang., a synonym ?]
Uniform Falcon.

E. Africa
(coast from
Red Sea to
Madagas-
car) :
Arabian
Coast.

Wing A 8.5, $ 9.1 in. ; above slaty black ;
head, cheeks and ear-coverts deep black ;
throat and sides of neck creamy white,
washed with ferruginous ; below chestnut,

136

immaculate in old birds ; in younger
birds heavily marked with drop-shaped
spots of black.

289. Falco severus severus Horsf., Trans. Linn.
Soc., xiii., p. 135 (1822). [Java.]

Indian Hobby.

Wing 8.50, $ 9.0-9.50 in. ; chest usually
with black shaft-stripes ; above darker ;
tail nearly black ; below darker chestnut ;
quills and tail below either banded or un-
banded in New Guinea birds, not always
unbanded.

289a. Falco severus papuanus A. B. Meyer &
Wiglesw. Abhandl. Ber. Mus. Dresden,
1892-3, No. 3, p. 6 (1893). [S.E. New

Guinea .]

New Guinea Hobby.

Above paler ; wings and tail browner
slaty ; inner webs always barred below
with pale cinnamon, chestnut of lower parts
paler, without black markings in adults.
289b. Falco severus indicus A. B. Meyer and
Wiglesw. Bds., Celebes, i., p. 84 (1898).
[' Calcutta .]

Central Indian Hobby.

Wing $ 9.6 in. ; above sooty ; primaries
and tail-coverts with rufous bars on inner
webs ; throat buffy white ; below black,
with remains of chestnut edgings ; thighs
chestnut, streaked with black ; younger
bird chestnut below, streaked with black.

289c. Falco severus religiosus Sharpe, Cat. Bds.
Brit. Mus., p. 397 (1874). [Ceram, type in
Leyden Mus.]

Moluccan Hobby.

Burma,
Malay
Peninsula &
Archipel. ;
French
Indo-China.

New
Guinea ;
Celebes ?
Solomon
Is.?

India ;
cas. Ceylon

Ceram,

Halmahera.

137

Wing $ 9.7, $ 10.5 in. ; above slaty blue,
darker on head and lighter on rump ;
primaries and tail barred on inner webs
with rufous ; hind neck tinged with rufous,
forehead white ; throat and sides of neck
reddish white ; below pale dull rufous,
with a few dark shaft-stripes on breast
and obsolete grey bars on flanks.

290. Falco longipennis longipennis Swains.,
Anim. in Menag., p. 341 (1838). [ Tasmania ]
[ ^F. lunulatus Lath.]

Little Falcon.

Smaller.

290a. Falco longipennis murchisonianus Math.,
Nov. Zool., xviii., p. 252 (1912.) [E.

Murchison .]

Murchison Falcon.

Larger than last form, and differs from
typical form in its blue-grey upper surface
and paler under surface.

290b. Falco longipennis apsleyi Math., Austral.
Av. Rec. i., p. 33 (1912). [ Melville Is-

land.]

Northern Little Falcon.

*

[Not seen.]

290c. Falco longipennis hanieli Llellmayr, Avif.
Timor, p. 100 (1914). [Timor.]

Timor Little Falcon.

Wing £ 8.5 in. ; above dark slate grey,
blackish on interscapulary region ; pri-
maries and tail feathers dark brown, latter
barred with fulvous on inner web ; fore-
head buffy white ; throat and sides of
neck white, washed with rufous ; below
rusty red, with central streaks of black
on breast and sides ; under wing-coverts
buff, streaked with black.

East

Australia ;
Tasmania.

South ’and
Mid. West
Australia.

Northern
Territory :
N.W.
Australia.

Timor.

138

291.

292.

Falco cuvieri Smith, S. Afr. O. Jnl., i.,
p. 392 (1830). [ Cafferland , near Kai River .]
African Hobby.

[Not seen.]

Faico pyrrhogaster Reichenow, Orn. M.B.,
xxiii., p. 25 (1915). [Cameroon.]

S. and W.
Africa ;
cas. in
Egyptian
Sudan.

Cameroon.

293.

Wing 9.45, $ 11 in. ; above black, most
of the feathers bordered with slate grey ;
tail with 3 bars of greyish white ; throat
white ; below chestnut, except lower
breast and under wing-coverts which are
black, tipped and spotted with rufous
buff.

Falco deiroleucus Temm. PL Col. i., pi. 348
(1825). [Brazil.] [ = F. aurantius Gmel.,
auct.J

Orange-breasted Falcon.

South and
Central
America ;
Brazil to
Guatemala

Size small ; length $ 9-10 in. ; wing $ 7.3,
$ 8.9 ; above slaty black ; tail black,
tipped with white, and with 3 or 4 narrow
bands of greyish white ; throat and sides
of neck orange rufous to white with a tinge
of rufous ; breast black, finely barred with
white ; abdomen, thighs and under tail-
coverts chestnut.

294. Falco rufigularis rufignlaris Daud., Traite,
ii., p. 131 (1800). [Cayenne.]

[F. albigularis Daud., a synonym.]
White-throated Bat Falcon.

South and
Central
America,
from

Argentina
to Mexico.

Wing $ 7.85 in. ; “upper surface dark
slate grey instead of black ; below with
breast and sides of body dark brown, not
black, and much more broadly banded
with white.”*

* A larger series is necessary to show if this form is really separable.
Paraguayan birds (F. ophvyophanes Salvad.) appear to me indistinguishable
from typical birds.

139

294a. Falco rufigularis pax Chubb, Bull. B.O.C.,
xxxix., p. 23 (1918). \Charuplaya, Bolivia,
type in coll. Brit. Mus.]

Bolivian White-throated Falcon.

Wing $ 7.45, 9 8.45 in. ; differs from F. r.
rufigularis in being slate colour above, with
black shaft-lines, instead of black with
slightly paler margins ; bend of wing white
varied with buff ; breast and sides of
body blackish brown, instead of black,
and the white bars broader.

294b Falco rufigularis petoensis Chubb, Bull.
B.O.C., xxxix., p. 22 (1918). [Peto, Yuca-
tan, April 1888, Salv.-Godm. coll., types in
Brit. Mus.]

Size moderate ; length 9 about 15.5 ;
wing A 10, 9 10.5 in. ; £ above dull slaty,
greyer on crown and lighter on rump ;
upper tail-coverts barred and tipped with
whitish ; tail blackish brown, with about
6 white bands ; a band from behind eye
round hind neck white, below which is a
line of black on sides of neck ; throat,
chest, ear-coverts and sides of neck buffy
white ; sides of breast black, barred with
white narrowly ; belly and vent tawny
buff ; 9 larger and more richly coloured ;
sides of head and under parts richer
tawny.

295 Falco fusco-ccerulescens fusco-ccerulescens
Vieill., N. Diet., xi., p. 90 (1817). [Para-
guay.]

Aplomado Falcon.

[Not seen.]

295a. Falco fusco-ccerulescens septentrionalis
Todd, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxix., p. 98
(1916). [Arizona.]

Arizona Falcon.

Bolivia.

Yucatan.

S. and C.

America,

from

Argentina
to Mexico.

Arizona.

140

Size small ; length $ 11.5 ; wing £ 8.25,

$ 9 in. ; head and hind neck chestnut red ;
above bluish slate, with remains of blackish
cross bars, except on back and scapulars ;
tail narrowly barred with black, with a
broad black subterminal band and white
tips ; eyebrow and moustachial stripe
black ; forehead, sides of head and neck,
throat and chest white, with a few black
shaft-lines on latter ; below white thickly
barred with black.

296. Falco chicquera chicquera Daud., Traite, ii. , Indian

p. 121 (1800). [ex. Levaill., Bengal.'] Peninsula.
Red-headed Merlin.

Size similar ; wing $ 8.6, $ 9.45 in. ; paler,
more barred above, especially on back and
scapulars, and with bars on breast rather
closer together.

296a. Falco chicquera ruficollis Swains., Bds. Tropical
W. Afr., i., p. 107, pi. 2 (1837). [Senegal.]* Africa to
African Rufous-necked Falcon. South

Africa.

Size small ; length $ about 11 in. ; wing
8, $ wing 8.5 in. ; $ above dark to pale
slate colour, with distinct black shaft-
stripes, the head and wing-coverts darker
hind neck mottled with rufous buff ; upper
tail-coverts paler grey ; tail tipped with
fulvous and crossed with 3 black bands,
and broad subterminal one ; forehead,
cheeks and throat fulvous, with narrow
streaks of black, except on latter ; below
ochraceous buff, with dark brown shaft-
streaks, broadest on the flanks ; $ much
browner above ; tail umber brown with 4
huffish white bands.

* Falco horsbrughi, Gunning and Roberts, Ann. Trans., Mus. iii., p. no
(ign), [Pretoria], is a synonym of this species, a fact ascertained from a
drawing made by Lt. Finch Davies from the type and examined by Dr.
Hartert and myself.

141

297. Falco columbarius columbarius Linn., S.N.,
i., p. 90 (1758). \“ America," ex. Catesby =
Carolina.]

Pigeon Hawk.

Darker form.

297a. Falco columbarius suckleyi Ridgw., Bull.
Essex Inst., v., p. 201 (1873). [ Shoalwater
Bay, Washington.]

Suckley’s Merlin.

Size similar ; wing 7.65-8, $ 8.50-8.85
in. ; (} above rather lighter slate blue,

with the black shaft-lines ; below rather
more rufous ; tail slaty blue, tipped with
white and with broad subterminal band,
the other black bands nearly obsolete ;
$ above dark brown, tail with 5 narrow
pale bands ; below dull white streaked
with brown.

297b. Falco columbarius cesalon Tunst.,Orn. Brit,
p. 1 (1771) [ex. Pennant, British Isles.]
Common Merlin.

Size similar; wing $ 7.75-8.10 in.; $
above lighter grey ; § above paler brown ;
much less heavily striped below.

297c. Falco columbarius insignis (Clark), Pr.
U.S. Nat. Mus., xxxii., p. 470 (1907).
[ Fusan , Korea. ]

Asiatic Merlin.

N. America
in winter
S. to
W. Indies
and North.
S. America.

N.W.
America,
Sitka to N.
California.

N. Europe
to Brit.
Isles and
Central
Russia ; in
winter S. to
N. Africa.

Asia ;
Turkestan
to China,
Japan and
Ussuriland;
in winter to
Cyprus,
Syria,

India,

S. China.

142

Slightly larger ; wing A 8.25 in. ; above
still paler grey and below with smaller
and paler stripes ; $ paler generally.

297d. Falco columbarius pallidus (Suschk.) Bull. Kirghis-

B.O.C., xi., p. 5 (1900). [W. Kirghissteppe.] steppe; in
Pallid Merlin. winter to

Turkestan

and

N.W. India

Larger ; wing $ 8.90, $ 9.85 in.

297e. Falco columbarius lymani Bangs, Bull. E. Asia,
M.C.Z., liv., No. 16, p. 465 (1912). [Tsche- (Altai
gan-Burgazi Pass, Altai Mtns.] Mtns.)

Altai Merlin.

Wingd 7.70, $ 9 in. ; $ above earth brown,
with greyer centres and black shaft-lines
to all the feathers ; tail with 5 bands of
ashy white and tipped with the same ;
below buffy white, striped with ochraeous
brown, broadest on the flanks ; 2 more
similar to but the feathers of upper
parts with ochraeous spots.

297f. Falco columbarius richardsoni Ridgw.,
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1870, p. 145
(1871). [Mouth of Vermilion River, S.
Dakota.]

Richardson’s Merlin.

Gt. Plains
of W. North
America ;
Saskat-
chewan
Valley to
N. Dakota,
in winter to
N.W.
Mexico.

Gen. LXXXV. IERACIDEA Gould (1837).

Distance between tips of primaries and tips of
secondaries less than half length of tail ; tarsus
transversely plated bear base of toes, and appre-
ciably longer than in Falco.

143

298.

Size moderate ; wing <$ 13 in., $ 14 in. ;
above sandy brown, most of the feathers
edged with rufous ; head with blackish
shaft-stripes ; tail ashy brown, tipped
with white and barred with rufous ;
below creamy white with brownish shaft-
streaks, and a dark brown moustachial
stripe ; thighs, axilliaries and inner lower
wing-coverts chestnut.

Ieracidea berigora berigora Vigors & Horsf.,
Trans. Linn. Soc., xv., p. 184 (1827). [Neiv
South Wales, types in Brit. Mus.]

Striped Brown Hawk.

Interior of
S. Queens-
land and
N.S. Wales.

Less rufous above, more uniform darker
brown, without shaft stripes ; below with-
out shaft-stripes, the sides blackish brown,
often uniform blackish brown.

298a. Ieracidea berigora orientalis Sharpe Cat.
Bds. Brit. Mus., i., p. 422 (1874). [ New
S. Wales, ex. Schl. Naum. 1855, p. 254.]*
Brown Hawk.

Coastal
districts of
S. Oueens-

r>-/

land and
N.S. Wales,
Whole of
Victoria.

Smaller ; wing (sex ?) 12.85 in. ; above
brown with buffy tips.

298b. Ieracidea berigora tasmanica Math., Bds. Tasmania.
Austr., v., p. 276 (1916). [Tasmania.]

Tasmanian Brown Hawk.

Smaller.

298c. Ieracidea berigora occidentals Gould, P.Z.S. S.W.

1844, p. 105. [Perth.] Australia.

Western Brown Hawk.

Wing $ 14.50 in. ; dark phase ; above and
below smoky black or fuliginous brown.

* For the forms of this group, all very doubtfully distinct, see Mathews's
Birds of Australia.

298d.

144

Cape York,

North

Australia.

Northern

Territory,

N.W.

Australia.

Central

Australia.

S.E. New
Guinea.

Gen. LXXXVI. CERCHNEIS Boie (1826).*

With the general characters of Falco, but wings
not so long and 3rd primary nearly equal to 2nd ;
outer and inner toes equal. (Plumage always
rufescent ; sexes usually dissimilar).

Size small ; wing 3 9.10-9.75, tail 6.25-
6.50 ; wing $ 9.65-10.25, tail 6.50-6.75 in. ;

3 above brick-red, with a few arrow-head
black markings, especially on the inner
secondaries ; head and neck blue-grey,

* Against the opinion of many systematists I feel it desirable to separate
this group from Falco, not only because they form a natural group, distinctive
in colouration, but also because this group contains within it certain groups of
species, closely connected, but having many ramifying forms, which it seems
undesirable to treat of under Falco.

Ieracidea berigora kempi Math., Bds.
Austr. , v., p. 277 (1916). [ Cape York].
Kemp’s Brown Hawk.

Above dark rusty brown ; cheeks black.
298e. Ieracidea berigora melvillensis Math., Aus-
tral. Av., Rec., i., p. 34 (1912). [. Melville
Is.]

Northern Brown Hawk.

Very pale race.

298f. Ieracidea berigora centralis Math., Bds.
Austr., v., p. 277 (1916). [ Central Aus-
tralia.]

Central Australian Brown Hawk.

[Not seen.]

298g. Ieracidea novce-guinece A. B. Meyer, J.F.O.,
1894, p. 89. [S.E. New Guinea.]

New Guinea Brown Hawk.

145

with narrow black shaft lines ; primaries
dark brown, notched with white ; lower
back, rump and tail blue-grey, the tail
with broad subterminal band of black and
tipped with white ; below pale rufous
fawn, chest with black streaks, becoming
spots on flanks ; thighs rufous buff, throat
and under tail-coverts buff, unspotted ; ¥
above entirely rufous, banded with black,
with only a bluish shade on rump ; tail
rufous barred with black ; below paler.

299. Cerchneis tinnuncula tinnuncula Linn., Europe,

S.N., i., p. 90 (1758). [“ Europe ” =Sweden.] from 68° N.
Common Kestrel. in Scandi-

navia and
61° N. in
Russia to
Mediter-
ranean and
N.W.

Africa ;
Brit. Isles ;
W. and C.
Asia ; in
winter to
Africa and
India.

Below deeper and warmer than in typical
form ; which it quite equals in size.

299a. C erchneis tinnuncula rupicolceformis Brehm , Egypt ,
Vogelfang, p. 29 (1855). [ex. Wiirttemberg Nubia.
MS. — “Egypt an.d Germany”; restricted
type loc. Egypt.]

Egyptian Kestrel.

Larger and averaging paler above and
below ; wings and tail longer, the latter
especially much longer than in other forms;
wing 9.85-10.10, ¥ 10.20-10.50; tail £ •
6.75-7.75, ? 7. 0-8.0 ins.

146

299b. Cerchneis tinnuncula d'orriesi subsp. nov.
[cj Sidemi, E. Siberia, Dorries coll. June
2nd, 1884, TringMus. ; $ Amur River, E.
Siberia, Dorries coll.. Mar. 27, 1894, Brit.
Mus. Reg. No. 97, 10, 30, 258.]*

Siberian Kestrel.

Smaller ; wing $ 8.50-8.90, $ 8.90-9.50
in. ; much darker above and below.

299c. Cerchneis tinnuncula canariensis Koenig,
J.f.O., 1889, p. 263. [ Canary Is,]

Canarian Kestrel.

Size similar ; wing ^ 8.8, $ 9 in. ; a dark
form approaching the last.

299d. Cerchneis tinnuncula neglecta Schleg., Mus.
Pays-Bas, Rev. Accipitres, p. 43 (1873).
[S2. Vincent.]

Cape Verde Kestrel.

Wing S 8.40-8.90, $ 8.90-9.90 in. ; above
as pale as in C. t. tinnuncula, below deeper
rusty.

299e. Cerchneis tinnuncula dacoticz Plart., Vog.
Pal. Faun., p. 1086 (1913). [ Lanzarote .]
East Canarian Kestrel.

Siberia
(AmurRiver
to Yeneisei)
and

Mongolia ;
S. in winter
to India,
Ceylon,
Assam,
Burma and
China.

W. Canary

Islands

(Tenerife,

Gran

Canary,

Hierro,

Palma,

Gomera) ;

Madeira.

Cape Verde
Islands.

Canary Is.
(Fuerta-
ventura,
Lanzarote.)

* Material from Siberia being very meagre, I have principally determined
this form from the considerable number of large and long-tailed birds, always
on the pale side, existing in collections from Ceylon, India, Assam, etc., which
are obviously migrants from the north, and have no connection with the
smaller and darker form breeding in N. India (C. t. saturate i), with the rather
darker but nearly typical bird breeding in W. Asia, or with the darker but
large race breeding in Japan (C. t. japonica). A large immature £ bird in
my collection from Ceylon has a tail measurement of 7.75 in. and there
are birds in the Tring collection with nearly the same measurement,

147

Larger ; wing $ 9.50-9.75, $ 10.0-10.55
in. ; head darker than in C. t. tinnuncula ;
dark spots on mantle larger and with
broad dark shaft-marks to the feathers ;
below darker than C. c. tinnuncula.

299f. Cerchneis tinnuncula japonica Temm. and
Schleg., in Siebold’s Fauna Jap. Aves, p. 2,
pi. 1, and lb. (1844). [ Japan .]

Japanese Kestrel.

Rather smaller ; wing 3 9.10-9.50, tail 6 ;
wing $ 9.50-10 in. ; smaller and much
darker than C. t. tinnuncula ; much deeper
rufous above and more heavily spotted ;
head and tail showing a great tendency to
a rufous wash, and tail more generally
with remains of black bars even when
adult ; chest more heavily striped and
breast with larger spots.

299g. Cerchneis tinnuncula saturata (Blyth) Jnl.
As. Soc. Beng., xxviii., p. 277 (1859).
[ Tenasserim .]

Himalayan Kestrel.

Smaller than C. t. tinnuncula ; wing $ 8.70-
9-45 in. ; dark form approaching saturata.
299h. Cerchneis tinnuncula carlo Hart & Neu-
mann, J.f.O., 1907, p. 592. [Bissidimo near
Harrar, type in Tring Mus.]

Central African Kestrel.

Japan ;

S. in winter
to China &
Hainan.

Mountains
of N. India
to China ;
in winter
S. to Tra-
vancore ;
cas. Ceylon?

Tropical
Africa (So-
maliland,
Abyssinia
and Blue
Nile to
Victoria
Nyanza &
Tangan-
yika) ;

S. Arabia.

148

Size of C. t. tinnuncula ; wing $ 10 in. ;
similar in general colouration, but with
sides of face dull blue-grey like head ;
$ tail blue-grey banded with black, instead
of rufous.

299i. Cerchneis tinnuncula rupicola Daud.,Traite,
ii., p. 135 (1800). [ex. Levaill. — Cape of
Good Hope .] South African Kestrel.

Smaller ; wing 8.70-9.20, $ 9-9.60 in. ;

5 above deep bay, with broad arrow-head

markings of black ; head and hind neck
uniform, streaked with black ; rump,
upper tail-coverts and tail bluish grey,
latter with broad black subterminal band
and white tips ; throat rufous white ;
below bay colour, streaked on breast and
arrow-headed on flanks with black ; $

more banded above ; tail with extra dark
bars, besides the subterminal one.

300. Cerchneis moluccensis moluccensis Hombr.

6 Jacq., Voy. Pole Sud. Zool. Atlas, pi. 1.,
f. i. (1842) et texte iii., p. 46 (1853). [ Moluc-
cas ?]

Moluccan Kestrel.

[C. t. orientalis a synonym.]

Smaller ; wing $ 7.85 (Celebes) -9.20
(Java), $ (Flores) 9 in. ; paler, with more
greyish cheeks and ear-coverts, much
whiter under wing-coverts and lighter
underside.

300a. Cerchneis moluccensis occidentalis A. B
Meyer & Wiglesw., Abhandl. Ber. Mus.
Dresd. 1896-7, No. 2, p. 8. \Celebes.]
Javan Kestrel.

S. Africa,

(Natal,

Cape

Colony,

Damara-

land) .

Molucca Is.

(Amboyna,

Bouru,

Ceram,

Goram,

Peling Is.,

Halmahera ,

Morotai,

Ternate,

Bat chian) .

Celebes,
Lesser
Sunda Is.
to Kan-
gean; Java.

149

Size similar ; wing $ 9.3, $ 9.8 in. ; £
above pale rufous, almost unspotted ;
head pale bluish grey, washed with rufous,
and with black shaft-lines ; rump and tail
blue-grey, latter with broad subterminal
black band and white tips ; sides of face
greyish white ; below buffish white, the
chest tawny buff, that and sides with black
shaft-stripes ; under wing-coverts white ;
$ head and tail like back, the tail barred
with black.

301. Cerchneis cenchroides cenchroides Vig. and
Horsf., Trans. Linn. Soc., xv., p. 183
(1827). [N. S. Wales.]

Nankeen Kestrel.

301a. Cerchneis cenchroides milligani Math., Nov.
Zool., xviii., p. 253 (1912). [ Parry’s Creek ,
N .W .Australia.]

Dusky Nankeen Kestrel.

Smaller ; below darker, decided cinnamon
pink ; tail rusty cinnamon.

301b. Cerchneis cenchroides unicolor Milligan,
Emu, iv., p. 1 (1904). [Yalgoo.]

Westralian Nankeen- Kestrel.

Larger ; wing £ 11, $ 11.4 in. ; A above
tawny rufous, with broad cross-bars of
black ; head uniform, but streaked with
black ; rump and upper tail-coverts black-
ish, barred with fulvous ; tail ashy rufous,
banded with black, the subterminal band
broad, followed by a white tip ; primaries
blackish brown, the inner ones mottled
with rufous on inner webs and spotted on
outer webs ; below dull tawny rufous,
breast streaked with brown, flanks more
heavily marked ; under wing-coverts
white ; ? similar, but flanks more barred.

East

Australia.

N.W.

Australia,

Northern

Territory.

S.W. and
Mid. W.
Australia.

150

302. Cerchneis rufiicoloides rupicoloides Smith,
S. Afr. Q. JnL, i., p. 238 (1830). [ Groene
River , Little Namaqualand, type in Brit.
Mus.]

Larger African Kestrel.

Smaller, much paler above.

302a. Cerchneis rupicoloides fieldi Elliott, Field
Columb. Mus. No. 2 Orn., p. 58 (1897).
[ Somaliland .]

Somali Kestrel.

Rather darker, tail with narrower black
bars, the pale ones more blue grey.

302b. Cerchneis rupicoloides arthuri (Gurney).
List Diurn. Bds. Prey, p. 156 (1884).
[Mombasa. ]

East African Kestrel.

Wing S 10.6 in. ; plumage above and below
fox red ; head narrowly and back and
wing coverts more broadly streaked with
black ; the greater wing-coverts with
remains of bars ; primaries black, mar-
gined and tipped with paler red ; tail
darker red, with about 15 bars of black ;
throat unmarked, but rest of under surface
with narrow central streaks of black.

303. Cerchneis alopex alopex (Heugl.) Syst.
Uebers., p. 10 (1856), and Ibis, 1861, p. 69,
pi. iv. [prov. Galabat .]

Fox-coloured Kestrel.

303a. Cerchneis alopex deserticola Reichenow,
Orn. M.B., vii., p. 190 (1899). [ Mangu ,
Togo Hinterland .]

Desert Kestrel.

South

Africa.

Somaliland.

Brit. E.
Africa

N. E.

Africa,

(Bogosland

to Shoa) ;

Equat.

Africa

(Redjaf).

Togo Hin-
terland ;
Gold Coast
Hinter-
land ?

- 151

Smaller ; wing $ 7.4 , $ 8.2 in. ; $ above,
including head and neck, light rufous,
streaked on head and neck and arrow-
headed on scapulars and wing-coverts with
black ; rump and upper tail-coverts dark
bluish grey with more or less of black
arrow-head markings ; tail bluish grey
banded with black, the subterminal band
very broad ; forehead, sides of head and
under parts creamy white, tinged with
rufous on chest, which is marked with
elongated black spots, becoming more oval
on breast and flanks ; under wing-coverts
white, streaked with black ; $ similar.

304. Cerchneis newtoni Gurney, Ibis, 1863, p. 34,
pi. 11. [ Madagascar .]

Madagascar Kestrel.

Size similar ; wing $ 7, $ 7.6 in. ; above
dull foxy rufous, with rather broad bars
of black ; head with blackish shaft-stripes;
tail deep bay, with 6 bands of black ;
below white, with large oval spots of
brownish black, smaller and more longi-
tudinal on flanks ; $ similar.

305. Cerchneis punctata Temm., PI. Col., i., pi.
45 (1823). [Isle de France .]

Mauritius Kestrel.

Smaller ; wing $ 5.6, $ 6.3 in. ; above
maroon-chestnut, with a few black shaft-
lines and spots, chiefly on wing coverts
and scapulars ; rump, upper tail-coverts
and tail bluish grey, latter with broad
subterminal and 4 other black bands ;
head dark bluish grey ; sides of face paler ;
below isabelline fawn colour, unspotted ;
$ scarcely differs.

306. Cerchneis gracilis (Less.) Traite, p. 93
(1831). [ Seychelles ].

Seychelles Kestrel.

Madagas-

car.

Mauritius.

Seychelles

Is.

152

Size small ; wing $ 9.10-9.70, 5 9.10-9.80
in. ; head, hind neck, rump, upper tail-
coverts and tail blue grey, latter tipped
with white and with broad subterminal
black band ; rest of upper parts cinnamon
rufous, unspotted ; greater wing-coverts
and inner secondaries blue grey, shaded
with rufous externally ; primaries dark
brown ; throat whitish ; chest and breast
pale cinnamon, marked with small black
spots, larger on the flanks, abdomen and
under tail-coverts yellowish white ; $

more like that of C. t. tinnnncula , but
smaller and distinguished by its white
claws.

307 Cerchneis naumanni naumanni Fleischer,
Sylvan, 1817-18, p. 174 (1818). [S. Germany
and Switzerland.']

Lesser Kestrel.

Size similar ; wing $ 9.6 in. ; darker above
and below, and without spots below when
adult, or with minute spots on sides when
less mature ; wing-coverts almost entirely
blue-grey, only innermost ones slightly
washed with rufous.

307a. Cerchneis naumanni pekinensis Swinh.,
P.Z.S., 1870, p. 442. [Pekin.]

Chinese Lesser Kestrel.

Mediter-
ranean
countries,
from Spain
to S.
Russia,
also N.W.
Africa ;

Asia Minor,
Cyprus and
S.W. Asia;
in winter
to Africa ;
cas. in
Central
Europe and
Brit. Isles.

N. China ;
Himalayas ?

. 153

Slightly smaller ; wing $ 9 in. ; above
with red of mantle very much paler ;
below paler fawn colour and uniform
without spots, except a few on sides in
less mature birds.

307b. Cerchneis naumanni turkestanicus Zarudny,
Mess. Orn., 1912, p. 114. [ Russian Tur-
kestan.]

Length ad. 10-11, wing 7.50-8.00 in.,
tail 5-6 in. ; head slaty, crown usually
rufous ; above rufous, more or less barred
with black (according to age) ; tail with
subterminal band of black and white tips ;
outer feathers more or less white, with one
or more extra partial bands of black on
inner webs (according to age) ; below
buffish white, the chest pale cinnamon
fawn, more or less finely spotted with
black on sides of body (according to age).

[Specific distinctions : crown generally

rufous ; chest washed with rufous ; sides
spotted.]f

* I have described this form from a presumed typical £ from Samarkand,
May ist, 1908, alt. 2,000 ft., D. Carruthers coll., in the Brit. Mus. coll. An
example in the Brit. Mus. coll, from Somaliland, very pale and unspotted below,
is as pale above as the Samarkand bird and is evidently referable to this form ;
the line of migration to N.E. Africa being a quite natural one. Examples
from Central and S.E. Africa are however C. n. naumanni.

f Opinions differ greatly as to the specific and subspecific value of the
American Kestrels, but I think it desirable to give specific rank to the typical
race of each of the three groups of forms, and I have pointed out the principal
characters on which I base these species. Some ornithologists appear to me
to have failed to grasp the most important factors in determining the subspecies
of these groups of forms, and to have attached undue importance to tail
markings and the spotting of under parts, characters which vary with maturity
and ^require to be considered with great caution. The spotting below is
common to the less mature birds of all three groups, but disappears with age
entirely in the isabellina group and varies in the other two, while the rufous
on crown is likewise common to all three when immature, but disappears
in the isabellina and cinnamomina groups, yet is usually retained in the
sparveria group. The markings of the outer pair of tail feathers and the
width of the subterminal tail band are most unreliable characters in them-
selves, as a series of old and young of both sexes in my collection from one
district in Venezuela shows.

Turkestan ;
S. in

winter to
Somali-
land.*

154

308. Cerchneis sparveria sparveria Linn., S.N.,
i., p. 90 (1758). [“America,” ex. Catesby =
Carolina .]

American Kestrel.

United

States,

E. of Rocky
Mtns. ; S.
in winter
to Florida
and Gulf
States.

Smaller ; wing S 7.50, tail 5.25 in. ;
appreciably paler ; tail relatively longer
and paler ; wing-coverts less spotted ;
rufous crown patch appreciably larger ;
below with larger, rounder and more num-
erous black spots ; chest cinnamon fawn.

308a. Cerchneis sparveria phalcena (Lesson), Echo Western
du Monde Savant, Ann. 12, June 19, p. North
1086 (1845). [Mexico.] America,

Western Kestrel. from

E. Brit.
Columbia
and W. •
Montana to
N.W.

Mexico ; in
winter S. to
Mexico and
Guatemala

Smaller ; wing A 6.50, $ 6.75 ; paler ;
with rufous crown patch ; subterminal
tail band wide (25 mm.) ; below huffish
white, well marked with black.

308b. Cerchneis sparveria peninsularis (Mearns), Southern
Auk., ix., p. 267 (1892). [Lower California.] Lower
Lower Californian Kestrel. California.

Smaller ; wing $ 7-7.50 in. ; under parts
nearly immaculate in old birds, the ground
colour either cinnamon fawn or nearly
white ; throat white.

- 155

308c. Cerchneis sparveria paulus Howe and King,
Contr. N. Amer. Orn., i., p. 28 (1902).
[Florida.]

Florida Kestrel.

Florida,
Peninsula ;
Bahama
Islands.?*

v

Size small ; wing ad. 6.9 in. ; above more
heavily banded with black, the tail barred
broadly with black even when mature, but
bars obsolete on central feathers in some
examples ; below creamy white, chest
washed with fawn, with large black spots
on breast and sides.

308d. Cerchneis sparveria carribbcearum Gmel.,
S.N., i., p. 284 (1788). [ex. Briss. “An-
tilles," type loc. sugg. Dominica.]
Antillean Kestrel.

Lesser

Antilles

(St. Lucia,

Dominica,

Guada-

loupe,

Antigua,

Montserrat,

Anguilla,

Virgin

Gorda, St.

Thomas) to

Porto

Rico.f

Wing S 6.80 in. ; head slate, usually
wihout rufous on crown, and black bands
on back nearly absent ; below white, J
unspotted in oldest birds, or with a few
black spots on sides in less mature ; inner
webs of primaries white, the black bars
nearly obsolete ; $ with bands above

narrower than in typical form ; below
much whiter, slightly streaked on sides of
breast with pale brown.

* I am unable to say definitely what race inhabits the Bahama Islands,
not having seen examples.

t I am unable to separate the Porto Rico race [ Cerchneis sparveria
loquacula Riley, Smith. Coll., xlvii., p. 284, 1904 ; Viqnes I.] as so far as the
scanty material available shows it. is not distinguishable from caribbcearum.

t Almost dead white in Cuban birds, with scarcely any colour on chest,
but two San Domingo examples seen have a strong cinnamon shade on chest ;
as they show one or two spots on sides they are apparently younger birds.

156

308e. Cerchneis sparveria dominicensis Gmel., S. Domingo
S.N., i., p. 285 (1788). [S. Domingo]. and Cuba.

St. Domingo Kestrel.

Wing $ 7.25 ; tail 5.25 in. ; above darker
than C. s. phalcena, especially tail ; back
more heavily banded with black ; tail
band slightly broader ; head darker slate,
either without rufous, or with a small and
indistinct nape patch ; below creamy
white, including the chest, and much more
heavily striped on chest and spotted on
breast and sides with large black spots ;
thighs and vent unspotted.

308f. Cerchneis sparveria guatemalensis* subsp.
nov. [(£ Capetillo, Guatemala, J. J. Rodri-
guez, in coll. H. Kirke Swann ; $ Huehue-
tenango, Guatemala , June, 1897, W. B.
Richardson, in coll. Brit. Mus., Reg. "No.
98, 12, 1, 91.]

Central American Kestrel.

Central
America :
Guatemala,
Brit.

Honduras,

Honduras,

Nicaragua,

Costa

Rica ;

Mexico

(cas. ?).

Larger; length ad. about 11 in.; wing
S av. 7.80, tail 5.50 in. ; with no rufous
on crown ; $ usually with partial crown
patch ; S tail with one narrow (av. 13 mm.)
black subterminal band and white tips
mixed with rufous ; the tips of central
pair and inner webs of outer pair of
feathers rufous ; below white, chest with
decided tinge of fawn, and with large
black rounded spots on sides ; $ with

much narrower (almost linear) bands on

* The Central American form here designated is the resident form, and
I have added a co-type in the Brit. Mus. coll, obtained in June as my own
type is without date. It is true that North American migrants (principally
of the western form, phalcena) occur commonly in Central America, but I
regard the birds with heavily marked under-parts, little or no colour on chest,
and little or no red on crown, as quite distinct and forming the resident race
in Central America.

- 157

tail-coverts and tail, which is much paler ;
below whiter with narrower and paler
stripes [Specific distinctions : S slate

crown without rufous, pale chest, and
spotted under parts ; $ narrower and more
regular bars on tail-coverts and tail.]

309. Cerchneis cinnamomina cinnamomina
Swains., Animals in Menag., p. 281 (1838).
[Chile. \

Cinnamon Kestrel.

Southern
S. America :
Chile ;
Argentina
(except
N.E.)* ;

S. Peru,

W. of
Andes (?) ;
Patagonia
to Straits
of Magellan

Slightly smaller ; wing $ av. 7.10, tail
5 in. ; tail with the subterminal black
band appreciably wider (av. 22 mm.) ;
sides moderately spotted with black ;
$ tail darker red, and with broader,
straighter and more complete cross-bars,
the subterminal one broader ; below with
broader and darker brown stripes.

309a. Cerchneis cinnamomina australis Ridgw.,
Pr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 1870, p. 149.
[ Paraguay , type in U.S. Nat. Mus. ; new
name for Falco gracilis (nec Lesson)
Swains., Anim. in Menag., p. 281, 1838,
Bahia, Braz., type in Brit. Mus.]

Brazilian Kestrel.

Brazil,

N. to
Amazon
River (?),
S. to N.
Argentina.
E. to
Paraguay
and the
eastern
slopes of
Andes in
Bolivia and
Peru.

* Line of demarcation in Paraguay, Bolivia and S. Peru uncertain.

158

309b.

Size similar ; wing $ 7-7.50 in. ; tail 5.25 ;
$ wing 7.25-7.5 in. ; $ head much darker,
blackish slate ; above darker rufous ;
tail band 18-22 mm. (central widest,
northern and southern narrowest) ; below
much deeper cinnamon ; spots on sides
fewer (except in less mature birds) ; $
above (including tail) and below much
darker cinnamon rufous ; wing quills
washed with rufous on inner webs, the
black bars much narrower and white inter-
spaces 6 mm. wide ; tail bands narrow
and regular as in C. s. cinnamomina, but
underside much less white and bars
appearing much narrower, with no black
terminal band.

Cerchneis cinnamomina equatorialis Mearns,
Auk., 1892, p. 269. [£“ Guayaquil,” errore
= interior of Equador, type No. 101, 309 in
coll. U.S, Nat. Mus.]

[C. c. cauccB Chapm. and C. c. andina
Cory, synonyms.]*

Andean Kestrel.

Ecuador.

N. to West*
Colombia
(W. slope
of central
and

northern

Andes).

Slightly larger ; wing $ 7.50 in. ; more
deeply coloured and more heavily marked ;
vent and under tail-coverts clear buff ;

* I think that the absence of exact locality for Mearns’s type cannot
be held to disqualify his name, as it seems certain the example came from some
part of Ecuador, and I accept “ interior of Ecuador ” as a sufficient locality,
since I am unable to distinguish four (?) separate races for Ecuador as set
forth by Cory (Field Mus. Pub. Orn., Ser. i., pp. 319-23). C. c. caucce appears
to me to be a northern extension of this dark form, reducing in size slightly ;
C. c. andina appears to rest on the largest and darkest birds, with fewest spots
on sides, and presumably the most mature, judging by the description and
by presumed examples I have seen. His C. c. peruviana, being the paler
southern examples, is in my opinion untenable, as most Peruvian birds can
be referred either to cinnamomina or australis. There are only two groups of
forms in South America, the larger cinnamomina and the smaller isabellina.
If a bird is of fair size and has spotted sides when quite adult it must belong
to the former, and if small, with unspotted sides when adult, it must belong
to the latter. To treat both as forms of sparveria, as Cory does, is confusing.
It cannot be too strongly emphasised that the spotting in the isabellina
group is immaturity ; in cinnamomina it remains in the adult, but must vary
as we get away from the typical race. Andina by its size appears to belong
to the cinnamomina group, and according to Cory’s description the spots are
not entirely absent,

1‘59

spots below larger and more numerous ;
9 under parts (except throat) much deeper,
in some specimens dull rufous, obscurely
streaked and spotted with blackish ; vent
and thighs clear buff.

309c. Cerchneis cinnamomina fernandensis
Chapm., Bull. Am. Mus. N.H., xxxiv.,
p. 379 (1915). [Masatierra /., Juan Fer-
nandez Is., type in Am. Mus. N.H.]

Juan Fernandez Kestrel.

Smaller and paler ; $ length 9.50; wing 7 ;
tail 5 in. ; head and nape bluish slate,
without rufous when fully ad. ; above ru-
fous, with only one or two small specks of
black ; wing-coverts slate blue, slightly
spotted with black ; primaries with black
bars more or less obsolete, not extending
across webs ; tail with black subterminal
band 15-25 mm. wide, and white tips ;
outer web of outer feather white, inner
rufous ; below light pinkish cinnamon,
unspotted (except in less mature birds) ;
thighs and vent white ; 9 below isabelline,
with a few fine streaks and spots of pale
brown on chest and sides of breast ; nape
often with rufous patch or tinge. [Specific
distinctions : small size, slate crown, and
unspotted under parts.]

310. Cerchneis isabellina isabellina Swains.,
Anim. in Menag., p. 281 (1838). [Demarara,
type in Brit. Mus.]

Isabelline Kestrel.

Length £ 9 in. ; wing 7-7.25 ; tail 5 in. ;
9 wing 7.50-7.70, tail 5.25 in. ; $ above
darker rufous, with only a few black spots
and bars ; head blackish slate with no
rufous patch when adult ; primaries

Juan

Fernandez
Islands,
off Chile.

Guiana
and E.
Venezuela
(E. to
Caracas,?

S. to Rio
Branco,

N. Brazil).

160

barred right across inner webs ; tail with
broader black snbterminal band (25-30
mm.) ; below decided rufous cinnamon,
unspotted in ad. (less mature with a few
black spots on sides) ; $ and juv. $

isabelline rufous below with dark brown
streaks and spots ; crown with more or
less rufous.

310a. Cerchneis isabellina ochracea Cory, Field
Mus. Pub. Orn. Ser., i., p. 298 (1915).
[Colon, Tachira , W. Venez., type in Field
Mus.]

Venezuelan Kestrel.

Wing shorter ; $ av. 6.50, $ 6.90 in. ;

similar to last form but with a greater
tendency to banding above and to heavy
black spotting below in less mature birds ;
ad. £ below isabelline rufous unspotted ;
tail band av. 25 mm. [Barely separable
form.]

310b. Cerchneis isabellina brevipennis Berl., J.f.O.
1892, p. 91. [Curacao.]

Curacao Kestrel.

Venezuela,

(Merida,

Colon,

Valle,

Ohama,

Montana de

la Sierra,

Cutata,

Margarita

I.); N.E.

Colombia ;

Andes

region of

Colombia.*

Curacao,
Bonaire,
Aruba Is.,
off

Venezuela.

* C. i. intermedia Cory (Field Mus. N. H. Orn., i., p. 325 (1915), seems to
be non-separable. The average wing of his examples is the same as the
measurement of his type of ochracea ; the narrower band on the tail seems
scarcely a reliable distinction, while the white spotting on outer webs of
primaries is a very variable character. C. i. margaritensis Cory (T. c., p. 297),
I am also unable to distinguish, as examples with the paler under parts occur
in the Merida district along with the darker birds. His C. i. perplexa (t. c.,
p. 327) I am unable to distinguish, dark and pale-breasted birds occurring
together as I have before pomted out ; while C. i. distincta (t. c., p. 297I is
most certainly typical isabellina, the principal, character, the obsolete bars on
inner webs of primaries, being present in Brit. Guiana examples.

161

Wing A 7.7-7.25, ? 7,40-7.55 in. ; head,
neck, back and wing-coverts slaty blue ;
with a tinge of rufous on interscapulary
region ; rump, upper tail-coverts and tail
deep bay, the tail tipped with white and
with a broad subterminal bar of black ;
throat and sides of face whitish ; below
chestnut-fawn, paler on vent, and shaded
with greyish on flanks, with one or two
spots of black.

311. Cerchneis sparverioides Vig., Zool. Jnl., iii.,
p. 436 (1828). [Cuba].

Cuban Kestrel. ^

Gen. LXXXVII. DISSODECTES Sclat.

With the characters of Cerchneis but with a more
or less constant double-toothed mandible, and
plumage not rufescent.

Wing $ 8.9 ; general plumage slaty grey
(paler below) with dark shaft-lines to the
feathers ; tail with whitish bands on
inner webs ; throat and sides of face
whitish.

312. Dissodectes ardosiacus Bonn, et Viell., Enc.
Meth., iii., p. 1238 (1823). [Senegal.]
Slate-coloured Kestrel.

Smaller ; wing $ 8.3 ; head and neck
whitish ashy, with distinct blackish shaft-
stripes ; rest of upper parts blackish
brown, the primaries darker and banded
on inner webs with white ; rump and
upper tail-coverts white, shaded with
grey ; tail greyish white, banded with
black, the subterminal band broad ; throat
whitish ; under parts ashy brown.

Cuba ; cas.
Florida ?

(1864).

W. Africa
(Sene-
garribia to
Angola) ;
N.E.
Africa,
Equatorial
Africa.

162

313. Dissodectes dickinsoni Sclat., P.Z.S., 1864,
p. 248. [ Shire River .]

Dickinson’s Kestrel.

Wing $ 8.75, $ 9.1 in. ; above ashy grey
with black shaft-stripes, paler and bluer
grey on rump and upper tail-coverts ;
scapulars and wing-coverts barred with
greyish black ; primaries blackish, barred
with rufous or whitish on inner webs ; tail
black, all but the 2 central feathers barred
with greyish white ; forehead and throat
whitish, streaked on throat and barred
below with ashy brown.

314. Dissodectes zoniventris (Peters), Sitz. k.
Pr. Akad. Wiss. Berl., 1853, p. 7. [Mada-
gascar.]

Madagascar Grey Kestrel.

Zambesi

River,

Nyasaland,

Angola.

Mada-

gascar.

Sub. Order III. PANDIONES.

f

Gen. LXXXVIII. PANDION Savigny (1809)

Plumage very close and compact, wanting the
accessory plumule ; no facial disk ; eyes placed
laterally in the head ; nostrils generally not con-
cealed by bristles ; tarsus reticulated ; toes
devoid of feathers, the under surface rough,
covered with small pointed scales ; the outer
toe reversible.

Size large ; length ad. about 24 in. ; wing
19-20.90 in. ; head white, the crown
striped with blackish brown ; nape feath-
ers elongated and lanceolate ; ear-coverts
and stripe through eye blackish brown ;
above dark brown, with paler margins to
most of feathers ; tail dark brown, inner
webs barred with dark brown and whitish ;
below white, the breast varied with pale
brown centres to the feathers ; bill black ;
feet blue.

163

315. Pandion haliaetus haliaetus (Linn.), S.N., Europe,
i., p. 91 (1758). [ Europe =Sweden.] from Lap-

Common Osprey. land (and

formerly
Scotland)
to the Medi-
terranean
and Coasts
of N.

Africa and
Red Sea ;
S. Arabia ;
N. Asia to
Japan and
Kamt-
schatka.

Size similar ; dark markings of head
blacker ; above darker and richer brown ;
less marked on under side.

315a. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis Gmel., S.N.,
i., p. 263 (1789). [Carolina.]

American Osprey.

N. America
N. to New-
foundland
and Alaska;
S. in winter
to Central
America ;

S. America.
S. to Peru
and

Paraguay.

Similar to typical race, but smaller ; wing
ad. 16.50-18.25 in. ; head much whiter;
feet bluish white.

315b. Pandion haliaetus cristatus (Vieill.), N.D., Australia ;
iv., p. 481 (1816). [Tasmania.] Tasmania ;

Whiteheaded Osprey. Moluccas ;

New
Guinea ;
Philippines;
Sunda Is.

164

[Not seen]. Smaller. ?

315c. Pandion haliaetus microhaliaetus Brasil, New

Rev. Franc. Ofn., 1916, p. 201. [New Caledonia.
Caledonia.]

Gen. LXXXIX. POLIOAETUS Kaup (1850).

Wing $ 18, $ 20.4 in. ; above brown,
darker on wings, the primaries blackish ;
head and neck all round ashy grey ; tail
white, with broad terminal bar of brown ;
breast brown ; belly white ; under side of
wing leaden brown, with a white spot at
base of primaries ; feet yellowish white.

316. Polioaetus ichthyaetus ichthyaetus Horsf.,

Tr. Linn. Soc., xiii., p. 136 (1822). [Java.]
White-tailed Fishing Eagle.

Smaller ; wing $ 16.2 in. ; above ashy
brown, back and wings darker ; tail pale
brown at base, blackish brown sub-
terminally, the tip white ; throat, breast
and under wing-coverts ashy brown ;
belly white ; feet bluish white.

316a. Polioaetus ichthyaetus humilis Mull, and Burma ,
Schl. Nat. Gesch. Zool. Aves, p. 47, pi. 6 Malay
(1839-44). [Sumatra.] Peninsula ;

Malayan Fishing Eagle. Sumatra ;

Borneo ;

Java ;

Celebes.

Indian
Peninsula ;
Ceylon ;
Burma ;
Peninsula
Malay
and

Archipel.