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Show 442 MR. R. SWINHOE ON CHINESE Z O O L O G Y . [June 9, quills ; tertiaries blackish brown, broadly margined with rust-colour, which increases inwards until it predominates over the brown. Underparts.-A white spot succeeds the dark throat. Breast and flanks rusty buff, with darker median streaks of the same on the former, and blackish streaks on the latter. Belly, vent, and axillaries pure white. Bill somewhat finch-like, brown on upper mandible and on apical third of lower ; basal portion of latter flesh-colour. Legs, feet, and claws yellowish flesh-colour; the last curved and sharp. Length about 5*5 ; wing 2*9, the four first quills nearly equal in length ; tail 2*85, composed of twelve rectrices narrowing towards their tips ; bill in front *4, depth at base '23; tarse '7, hind toe '3, its claw *27. The description is taken from the male procured near Amoy. W e left Peking on the 17th September by the Tihshing gate, and, passing the towns of Tsingho and Shaho, put up for the night at Changping Chow, twenty-five miles from town. Before reaching our resting-place, we strolled under some willows, saw two Orioles (Oriolus chinensis), and secured a female Turdus pallidus, Gmel. On Sept. 18th sent our carts on to Shihshanling (Ming tombs), and walked along the hills at the back of Changping Chow, that overlook tbe valley of sepulchres. Saw a flock of Chukar Partridges jumping up the rocks, and put up two Bush-quails, Turnix maculosa, Temm., in the valley among the beans. Wheat was being sown, sorghum and other millet being gathered ; buck-wheat was in the ear; and the small beans planted between the rows of sorghum were ripening. Large numbers of Kestrels were flying and hovering about. Their movements struck me as peculiar; and on shooting a male we found the species to be a race of Falco cenchris, Naumann. W e procured on this occasion an adult male, and in the Western Hills a young male. They agree in size and form with F. cenchris of Europe; but the adult male has all the wing-coverts grey right up to the scapulars, most of them narrowly edged with rufous. The adult has the inner or short primaries broadly bordered at their tips with whitish, rufous in the immature, and wanting in the European bird. Both adult and immature have the white on the under quills 3;j inches short of their tips ; in the European bird it advances one inch nearer the tips. I will note this Eastern race as var. pekinensis. It will probably be the bird that winters in India. Among the trees of Yunglo's tomb I was attracted by a loud shaking cry I had never heard before ; and while wondering what it could be, I saw a bird like an attenuated Jackdaw fly across and fix on the trunk of a tree. Picus martius, of course ! M y heart throbbed violently ; but it was no easy matter to bring him down, the shot had such little effect on him. One of my comrades helped me in the pursuit; and we at last secured the noble fellow : iris reddish white. I loitered about till dusk ; and when nearly dark, something flapped violently across the avenue. Crossing under |