paler grey; quills brownish, externally ashy grey, barred on the
inner web with whitish; head, hind neck and under parts rufous,
inclining to buff on the under tail-coverts ; forehead whitish ; lores
and feathers round the eye greyish black; sides of the face and
neck, as well as the throat, yellowish white, with faint indications of
a pale rufous moustachial streak j soft parts as in the male but less
bright. Total length, 11 inches; culmen, 0'7 ; wing, 0 7 ; tail,
5'6; tarsus, 1T5.
Young.—In general colour similar to the adult female, having the
tail barred with black. The fore part of the head is whitish, and
there is a strong tinge of rufous on the edgings to the interscapulary
region, the bases to the feathers being blackish; feathers round the
eye and on the upper pai't of ear-coverts greyish black, with
faint indications of a moustachial streak ; throat and sides of neck
creamy white; under surface rufous, paler than in the old female,
and streaked with blackish centres to the feathers, these developing
into spots towards the end of the feather; cere, orbits, and feet
reddish yellow, claws yellowish white, with dark grey tips.
Fig. Sharpe'and Dresser, B. Eur. part 1.
60. C e r c h n e is am u r en s is . Eastern Red-footed Kestrel.
Even as in its breeding places this species has a more eastern
habitat, so in its winter residence it appears not to go so far to the
westward as G. vespertina. Only three specimens occurred to the
late Mr. Andersson in Damara Land, the foregoing species being by
far the more common bird there, as it is in Benguela. There are
two specimens in the British Museum, obtained by Dr. Kirk on the
Zambesi, and Mr. Gurney states that the Norwich collection contains
a specimen from thence. The following remarks of Dr. Kirk refer to
this species: “ In February and March it is seen in numbers on the
Shire, where the bush vegetation and palm,forest come down to the
river.”
Mr. Ayres has procured this Kestrel in the Transvaal, and according
to the same gentleman, in Natal, “ numbers may be seen
during the summer months about the open downs in the neighbourhood
of Maritzburg,”
Dr. Exton likewise shot a fine example in the Matabili country,
and Mr. Andersson obtained one at the Knysna.
Dr. Kirk gives the following account of its habits in the Zambesi
country:—“ This pretty little hawk is found near the river. It appears
only at sunset and in the dusk, when, coming in great numbers from
the shady forest or from among the fronds of the lofty Borassus-palm,
it hovers, swallow-like, over the plains and water, catching dragonflies
and loousts, which, with other insects caught on the wing, seem
to constitute its chief or only food. In February and March it was
seen in numbers on the Shire, where the bush-vegetation and palm-
forest come down to the river/'’
Adult male.—Above leaden black, a little paler on the lower back
and secondaries, the greater wing-coverts and primaries clearly
washed externally with silvery grey; tail greyish black above, paler
beneath; under surface of body pale grey; lower abdomen, thighs,
vent and under, tail-coverts bright chestnut; under wing-coverts
pure white ; cere and orbits orange; feet and tarsi dark orange, claws
whitish; bill dark orange, black at tip; iris hazel. Total length, 9-5
inches; culmen, 0'75; wing, 9'0; tail, 5'3 ; tarsus, IT5. (Sharpe,
Cat. B. i, p, 445.)
N.B. The above particulars as to tlio soft parts are given by
Ayres (Ibis, 1868, p. 41). Mr. Gurney observes that the female
“ differs materially from the female of G. vespertinus in the absence
of rufous tints from all the upper portions of the plumage.” See
the accurate plate in the Ibis, loc. cit.
Young.—Brownish, the feathers indistinctly margined at the tip
with dull fulvous, the lower scapulars, inner secondaries, rump and
upper tail-coverts inclining to greyish, all tipped with fulvous and
barred with dull black; tail grey, with distinct transverse bars of
black; sides of the face and throat white, the nape also mixed with
white; the lores and feathers of the eye as well as the indistinct
moustache brown; rest of under surface of body white, the breast
thickly .covered with blackish central streaks to the feathers, the
thighs and under tail-coverts buffy white, the former tinged with
rufous.
Fig. Gurney, Ibis, 1868, pi. 2,
61. C e r c h n e i s a r d e s i a c a . Grey Kestrel,
Only one specimen of this exclusively north.tropical species has
occurred within our limits. According to Prof. Barboza du Bocage,
a single specimen was procured at Humbe on the River Cunene by
f 2