LEPIDOGENYS SUBCRISTATUS, Gould.
Crested Hawk.
Lepiaogenys subcristatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., P art Y. p. 140; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part III.
I r e g r e t to say that I am not sufficiently acquainted with this singular -species to give any account o f its
habits and economy, but, judging from the feebleness o f its bill and talons and the shortness o f its tarsi, I
conceive that it principally preys upon insects and their larvae ; and it is not improbable that honey and the
larvae of bees and ants, which abound in Australia, may form a portion of its food. Any information on
this head that may have been ascertained by residents in Australia would, if m ade known, be of the highest
interest to ornithologists, as an addition to the history o f this singular form among the Falconidce. Its
extreme rarity, however, will, I fear, tend much to prevent the acquirement o f this desirable information.
I saw it soaring high in the air over the plains in the neighbourhood o f the Namoi, but never sufficiently
near to admit o f a successful shot. All the specimens I have seen were collected either a t Moreton Bay or
on the banks o f tbe Clarence.
As little or no difference exists in the plumage of the specimens I have examined, I presume th at the
sexes are very similar.
Crown of the head, sides o f the face, ear-coverts, and upper p art of the back brownish g r e y ; occiput and
lengthened occipital plumes blackish brown; back and scapulars brown; wings uniform dark brownish grey
above, beneath silvery g rey ; primaries and secondaries crossed by several bands, and largely terminated
with b lack; rump and upper tail-coverts chocolate-brown; tail brownish grey above, lighter beneath, crossed
by three narrow bands of black near the base, and deeply terminated with the same colour; throat, chest,
p a rt of the shoulder, and under tail-coverts greyish white tinged with rufous; abdomen, flanks and thighs
buffy white, crossed with conspicuous narrow bands of reddish c h e stn u t; bill bluish horn-colour; tarsi
yellowish.
The Plate pourtrays the bird of the natural size.