A Manual of Philippine BirdsMcGregor, Richard C. (Richard Crittenden)
Science
A Manual of Philippine Birds
McGregor, Richard C. (Richard Crittenden)
Birds -- Philippines
"After the first molt peregrines are brownish gray above and gradually
acquire a pure slaty-gray back. The spots and bars on the lower parts
are much broader at first and grow smaller and narrower with age,
the drops on the breast become narrow lines and ultimately disappear
altogether, the bands fade off the under tail-coverts and in very old
birds only small scattered specks remain on the abdomen and triangular
markings on the thigh-coverts. The general tint of the lower surface
varies from almost white to light rufous.
"Bill bluish, black at tip; cere yellow; iris brown; legs and feet
yellow. Length of a female, about 483; tail, 190; wing, 368; tarsus,
53; middle toe without claw, 57; bill from gape, 33. Males are
considerably smaller, length, about 406; wing, 317." (Blanford.)
An old female, taken in Tarlac Province, Luzon, was 470 in length;
wing, 360; tail, 195; culmen from base, 30; tarsus, 55; middle toe
with claw, 68. Iris brown; cere, legs, and skin about eyes light
lemon-yellow; nails black; bill black, its basal third very pale
yellow.
199. FALCO MELANOGENYS Gould.
AUSTRALIAN FALCON.
Falco melanogenys Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (1837), 139; Sharpe,
Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1874), 1, 385; Hand-List (1899), 1, 274;
Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1902), 2, 298; McGregor and Worcester,
Hand-List (1906), 45.
Luzon (Heriot). Australia.
"Adult male.--Head and nape deep black, including the entire sides
of face, cheeks, and ear-coverts; interscapulary region blackish,
with a few obsolete transverse bars of bluish gray; rest of upper
surface bluish ashy, barred all over with blackish, some of the bars,
especially of the upper tail-coverts, assuming a triangular form;
upper wing-coverts somewhat washed with brown, the gray shade being
more perceptible on the greater series; quills black, the primaries
outwardly shaded with gray, outer secondaries narrowly tipped with
creamy white, the inner ones almost entirely bluish gray, with obscure
blackish marblings and cross-bars; tail blackish, with a narrow ashy
white bar at the tip, the upper surface shaded with gray, clearer
toward the base, bars on center rectrices eleven in number, not
including the broad subterminal black band; throat and upper breast
deep creamy buff, the latter with a few median black shaft-stripes;
rest of the under surface buffy white, closely but narrowly barred
across with black, sides of body and thighs shaded with a bluish
gray tinge; fore part of breast and under wing-coverts with a strong
fawn-colored shade. Bill greenish at base, horny black at tip, under
mandible deep orange; feet yellow; claws black; iris dark. Length,
376; culmen, 30; wing, 300; tail, 152; tarsus, 51.
"Adult female.--Similar to the male, but larger and more richly
colored; underneath deep ferruginous, paler on the chest, the cross
barring narrow and irregular, sometimes confined to a small subterminal
spot. Length, 419; culmen, 37; wing, 338; tail, 168; tarsus, 51.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account