19. A stuk polyzonoides. Many-banded Goshawk.
Of all the little Goshawks which are included as races or subspecies
under the title of Astur badius, this is the most distinct, by
reason of the number and narrowness of its breast-bands. It cannot
be plentiful in the Cape Colony, for it is not included in Victories
Knysna list, and has not come under our notice from any part of the
colony itself. Sir Andrew Smith originally discovered the species
about lat. 26° S. In the Zambesi country, Dr. Dickerson procured
it at Chibisa, but Mr. Ayres has not found it in Natal, though more
recently he has met with it in the Transvaal. Mr. Andersson writes
that it is “ rather rare both in Damara and Great Namaqua Land.
I t is migratory, arriving in Damara Land after the first rains have
fallen, and retiring again on the approach of the dry season.” Dr.
Smith says that it feeds on small birds and prefers the neighbourhood
of rivers.
Adult.—Above pearl-grey, shaded with brown; throat speckled
with light-brown; all under parts of body white, closely banded
with small wavy, brown bars; under tail-coverts white; back and
upper sides of wings deep grey; inside of wings greyish-white, with
small dark bars. Tail grey, with about six dark-brown bands; tips
of feathers white. Tail long, slightly rounded. Cere of bill and
legs yellow. Lis orange in adult; yellow in immature bird, but subject
to much variation. {Vide Ayres, Ibis, 1869, p. 288.) Length,
11 ; wing, 7" 9 '" ; tail, 6".
Fig. Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. Aves, pi. 11.
20. A c c ip it er r u f iv en t r is . African Sparrow Hawk.
This is the common Sparrow-hawk of South Africa, and is the
representative of the European species, to which it bears a close
affinity in form. It is found generally, though sparingly, throughout
the colony, and was obtained by Yictorin at the Knysna. Mr. Andersson
says it is common to the south of the Orange River, and in
various parts of the Cape Colony, but is scarce in Damara and Great
Namaqua Lands. In Natal Mr. Ayres found it rare, though not shy.
It does not seem to occur as far north as the Zambesi, but is met
with in North-Eastern Africa.
Two eggs, said to be those of the present species,^ were forwarded
to us from Tulbagy: they are of a dirty white colour, irregularly and
obscurely blotched here and there with pale blood-coloured marks;
ACCIPITER MlifULLUS.
axis, 1" 9 '" ; diam., 1" 5". Mr. Henry Buckley, however, possesses
less typical eggs, which are of a dirty white colour, and measure I 72
inch long, and l -44 inch broad.
We have shot this species in the act of hovering like a Kestrel, and
as it preys much on birds and small quadrupeds, particularly field-
mice [Mus pumilus), we do not so much wonder at this habit. At
other times we have seen it glance like lightning through a copse,
and whip off a bird from a branch in passing. It will also eat coleop-
tera and white-ants. We saw a pair constructing a nest of sticks m
a thick fir-tree. It was placed over an horizontal forked branch,
cleverly supported by two large sticks across the foundation, but we
were too early for the eggs.
Mr. Grill, in his account of Yictorin’s collection, mentions a
Sparrow-hawk procured at the Knysna, which he refers to a variety
of the European species. We are not aware that any further notes
have been published on this specimen.
In the adult bird the upper parts are brownish-blue, glossed with
purple, chiefly on the head and neck, ear-coverts, and all the lower
parts of the body and thighs, mottled with reddish orange and white.
Tail above barred in shades of brown; all the feathers tipped with
duff white; under tail-coverts white. The plumage of the young bird
is of a much browner tinge throughout. When folded, the wings
reach to the middle of the tail. Iris and feet yellow, claws very long,
slender, and curved. Female more rufous on the shoulders and back ;
mottled on the breast. Length, 1 6 ; wing, 10"; tail, 8". The
male is smaller, being about 13" in length.
Fig. Smith, HI. Zool. S. Afr. Aves, pi. 93.
21. A c c ip it er m in u l lu s . Little Sparrow-Hawk.
We have not procured this bird ourselves in South Africa, but
Yictorin shot it in the Knysna. Our esteemed correspondents, the
Messrs. Atmore, procured a single specimen near George, and inform
us that at one farm in Outeniqualand, three of them killed all the
young ducks, striking them in the water-sluight. I t has been found
near Grahams Town, and like A. tachiro is a forest loving species.
In the British Museum there is a specimen collected by Mr. T. C.
Atmore, near Elands’ Post in S.E. Africa. Mr. Ayres has procured
it in Natal, and Dr. Dickerson shot a specimen at Chibisa in the
Zambesi An unusually pale coloured adult S from the Zambesi is