exposed situations in which the nests were found, I should rather judge it to be of the Eagle kind ; and that its
powers are such as to render it heedless of any attempts of the natives upon its young.”—Flinders’ Voyage, vol. i.
pp. 64 and 81.
The accumulation of so large a mass of materials is readily accounted for when we remember that the bird is in
the habit of resorting to the same eyry for a long succession of years, and of annually carrying additional materials
to reconstruct the nest.
I myself found and took young birds of this species from similar nests placed on the points of rocks and
promontories of the islands in Bass’s Straits.
Genus H a l i a s t u r , Selby.
The range of the members of this genus extends over Australia and all the islands to India.
4. Haliastur leucostemus, G o u l d Vol. I. PI. 4.
Falco Ponticerianus, Shaw, Nat. Misc., pi. 389.
Haliàètus (Ictinoaétus) leucostemon, Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 277.
Confined, so far as I am aware, to Australia, and forming a beautiful representative of the Haliastur
Ponticerianus of India.
6. Haliastur sphenurus . . . . . . . . . . y 0j. ¡jr. pj. 5.
Milvus sphenurus, Swains. Class, of Birds, vol. ii. p. 2 11.
Haliaetus ( Ictinoaétus) canorus, Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 277.
Inhabits all parts of Australia yet visited by travellers, even the Dépôt in thé interior.
Genus P a n d i o n , Sac.
Of the genus Pandion four species are now known ; one inhabiting America, another Europe and Asia, a third
the Indian Islands, and the fourth Australia.
6. Pandion leucocephalus, Gould y 0j j pj g
Pandion Gouldii, Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 270.—List of Birds in Brit. Mus. Col., Part I. 2nd edit. p. 22.
This species of Pandion performs precisely the same office in Australia that the P. haliaetus does in Europe and
the P Carolinensis in America ; to both of which species it is very nearly allied.
Genus F a l c o , Linn.
As they are the most typical of all the Hawks, so are the members of the genus Falco the most universally
dispersed over the face of the globe ; and I question whether the law of representation is in any case more beautifully
and clearly shown than by the members of the present group.
7. Falco hypoleucus, Gould . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vol. L PI 7
Up to the present time only four examples of this fine Falcon have been procured; it is a species admirably
adapted for the sport of Falconry, and is a beautiful representative of the Falco Gyrfalco of Europe. Its native
habitat is the interior of the southern and western portions of Australia.
8. Falco melanogenys,-GWd . . Vol. I. PI. 8.
Falco macropus, Swains. Anim. in Menag., p. 341.
melanogenys, Kaup, Isis; 1847, p. 75.
India, Europe, and North America oh the one hand, and Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope and Australia on
the other, are all inhabited by Falcons so nearly allied to each other as to favour the opinion that they are merely
varieties of each other; but I agree with the Prince of Canino and Professor Kaup in considering them to be distinct
and representatives of each other in the respective countries they inhabit. I t will doubtless be found that the habits
and economy of the whole are as similar as they are in outward appearance; and that the Falco melanogenys is as
destructive to the ducks of the interior of Australia as the Falco Anatum is in North America.
9. Falco subniger, G r a y ...................................... . . - Vol. I. PI. 9.
A powerful Falcon differing somewhat in structure from the F. hypoieucus and F. melanogenys. Nothing is
known of its habits, and as yet I have only seen four examples, all of which were procured in the interior of South
Australia.
10. Falco frontatus, Gould . . . . , . . . . . . . . . Vol. I. PI. 10.
Falco hmulatus, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl., p. xiii. ?
Sparvius lunulatus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., tom. x. p. 324.
Falco longipennis, Swains. Anim. in Menag., p. 341. ? .
suhbuteo, Brehm, Isis, 1845, p. 347. ?
(Hypotriorchis) frontatus, Kaup, Isis, 1847, p. 65.
A little Falcon with the habits of the Hobby.and Merlin combined; found in all parts of Australia to the
southward of the 25th degree of S. lat. ; among other birds it preys upon the Quails and the little Partridges belonging
to the genus Synoicus.
Genus I e r a c i d e a , Gould.
Generic characters.
Bill and general form of Falco, but the wings less powerful, and the third quill-feather the longest ; tarsi more
elongated, slender, and covered anteriorly with hexagonal scales ; toes more feeble, the hind-toe shorter, and the
claws less robust.
So far as our present knowledge extends, the members of this genus are only three in number, all of which are
confined to Australia and New Zealand.
1 1 . Ieracidea Berigora . . . . . . . . .. . . . . Vol. I. PI. 11
Ieracidea Berigora, Kaup, Class, der Saug. und Vog., p. 112.
Professor Kaup considers this species and the succeeding one, I. occidentalis, to be identical, but having had
numerous opportunities of observing them, I am satisfied that they are distinct; and in confirmation of this opinion
I may state that the I. Berigora, which is from the eastern coast, is always the largest, has the cere blue-grey, and
the plumage of the adult light brown, sparingly blotched with white on the breast; while the I. occidentalis, from
the western coast, is a more delicately formed bird, has the cere yellow and the breast white, with faint lines of
brown down the centre of each feather.
12. Ieracidea occidentalis, Gould ■ . . . . . . ' y 0l. I. pi. 12.
Genus T i n n u n c u l u s , Vieill.
13. Tinnunculus Cen ch ro id e s Vol. I. PI. 13.
Cerchneis immaculatus, Brehm,. Isis.
A beautiful representative of the Kestrils of Europe and India, where, as well as in Africa and in most parts of
America, members of this group are to be found.
The range of the Tinnunculus Cenchroides extends over the whole of the southern parts of Australia, and that it
extends far towards the northern portion, of the country is proved by Mr. Gilbert having found it, as well as its
nest, during the expedition of Dr. Leichardt from Moreton Bay to Port Essington.
The following is an extract from his J o u r n a l “ October 2. Found, for the first time, the eggs of Tinnunculus
Cenchroides, four in number, deposited in a hollow spout of a gum-tree overhanging a creek; there was no nest, the
eggs being merely deposited on a bed of decayed wood.” They are freckled all over with blotches and minute dots
of rich reddish chestnut on a paler ground, and are one inch and five-eighths in length by one inch and a quarter
in breadth.