of orthopterous or neuropterous insects, which the birds
seize with their feet when on the wing; but they also search
on the ground for dung-beetles, and lizards occasionally form
part of their diet, though they do not appear to prey on birds.
Their cry resembles, says the same observer, that of the
Kestrel, but is uttered less frequently.
This species goes through several interesting changes of
plumage, which are here described in detail. The upper
figure in the engraving at the head of the article represents
a young female; the lower one an adult male.
In the adult male, the base of the beak is yellowish-white,
the other part dark horn-colour; the cere and eyelids
reddish-orange, the irides dark brown; the head, neck, back,
upper surface of the wings and tail, the throat, breast, belly,
and under wing-coverts, of a uniform dark lead-colour; the
thighs, vent and under tail-coverts, deep ferruginous; the
legs and toes reddish flesh-colour; the claws yellowish-white,
with dusky tips. The whole length of the bird eleven
inches.
The young males before their first change are similar to
the young females, as hereafter described. At their first
change, they become of a uniform pearl-grey; the thighs
and flanks ferruginous; beak, cere, eyes, legs, toes, and
claws, as in the old male. The vignette is taken from a
young male that has nearly completed his first change, but
still retains a portion of the barred appearance of his first
livery on the outer or distal part of the wing, on the lower
part of the back and the tail-feathers, the middle pair only
of which are as yet moulted.
The adult female has the beak, cere, irides and legs as
in the male, the head and back of the neck reddish-brown ;
the eye surrounded with dusky feathers almost black; the
whole of the back, wing-coverts and tail, blackish-grey,
barred transversely with bluish-black; upper surface of
the primaries uniform dusky-black. The chin and throat
nearly white; the breast and all the under surface of
the body pale rufous, with dark reddish-brown longitudinal
streaks ; the thighs plain rufous ; under wing-coverts rufous,
\ Y -, i f f in . Il U .W l UJIA
with transverse bars of dark brown ; under surface of the
primaries blackish-grey, with numerous transverse bars of
bluish-grey : under surface of the tail bluish-grey, with nine
or ton transverse bars of bluish-black, which are broader as
they approach the tip.
Young females have the top of the head reddish-brown
with dusky streaks ; the eyes encircled with black, with a
small black pointed moustache descending from the front of
the eye ; ear-coverts white ; upper surface of the body dark
brown, the feathers ending with reddish-brown ; primaries
dusky-black, the inner edges and tips bufly-wliite ; the tail
dark brown, with numerous transverse bars of reddish-brown ;
throat white ; sides of the neck, the breast, and all the under
surface of the body, pale reddish-white, with brown longitudinal
streaks and patches on the hreast ; the thighs
uniform pale ferruginous ; beak, cere and irides as in the
adult female.