 Reference Base  Descriptions of new or imperfectly known objects of the a... |
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Smith, Andrew, 1829. Descriptions of new or imperfectly known objects of the animal kingdom, found in the South of Africa [no.3]. South African Commercial Advertiser 4 (no. 200) - 13 May 1829: 2, column 2
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Africa - Southern Africa - South Africa |
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History |
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African Rhino Species |
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Descriptions of new or imperfectly known objects of the animal kingdom, found in the South of Africa – Continued from the Advertiser of Nov. 5. South African Commercial Advertiser, 13 May 1829, vol. 4, no. 200, p.2 column 2.
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Descriptions of new or imperfectly known objects of the animal kingdom, found in the South of Africa by Dr. Smith, – Continued from the Advertiser of Nov. 5.
Fam. VULTURIDAE
PERINOPTERUS CARUNCULATUS. Mihi. –
Front, crown, sides of head, and upper part of throat bare, and of a purple color, with eight or ten small white transverse caruncles on the latter; nape, upper part of neck, and lower part of throat, with a light reddish brown down, and between that of the latter and the caruncles already mentioned a large oval
spot of black down; lower part of neck, interscapulars, and back, deep brown, with the feathers all edged and tipt with a lighter tint; shoulders nearly the same; primary quill feathers blackish with a grayish tinge towards quills; secondaries blackish brown, as is also the tail, which is wedge-shaped: breast and belly blackish brown, with the tips and edges of the feathers lighter than the centres; thighs covered with a white down, in addition to some long brown feathers on the outer side of each; legs and toes pale greenish blue; claws black; bill greenish black towards base, dark horn colored near tip; eyes dark brown. Length of bird two feet two inches; breadth from tip to tip of wing, five feet six inches. Inhabits the north-eastern parts of the Colony, and is not uncommon towards the sources of the Orange River.
Fam. FALCONIDAE
Genus POLYBOROIDES Mihi.
Bill compressed, particularly above, moderately hooked; nostrils longitudinal and narrow; ceroma smooth; sides of head, to some little distance behind eyes bare; tarsi, long, slender, reticulated; claws compressed and acute; fourth quill feather the longest.
POLYBOROIDES TYPUS. Mihi. –
Front, crown, neck, interscapulars, and back, fine gray; shoulders and scapulars the same, slightly mottled, however, by narrow, undulated, dusky lines; most of the latter feathers also have each a large black blotch towards its tip, primary wing coverts dark gray, each with a large dark blotch towards the tip, which last in all of them is white; secondary coverts the same, only the gray a little lighter; primary wing feathers gray towards quills, elsewhere shining black, except the tips of some of the innermost, which are white; secondaries principally gray, having each a broad black bar towards tip, the latter itself white; tail long, rounded, shining greenish black, with a broad band of white mottled with black towards extremity, and the apices of all the feathers white, as well as a little of the vanes of each towards quills; chin, throat, and breast an uniform fine gray; belly, vent, insides of shoulders, hinder part of back, and whole of thighs finely rayed with transverse black and white lines; tarsi and toes yellowish brown; claws dark horn colored; orbits and cere inclined to orange yellow; bill dark horn colored. Length of bird two feet four inches. Found, though very seldom, in the eastern parts of the Colony and in Cafferland; inhabits also Madagascar.
CIRCAETUS PECTORALIS. Mihi. –
Above deep brown or blackish brown; shoulders and rump feathers, as well as scapulars, with reddish white tips and edges; primary wing coverts transversely banded grayish and black with white tips; secondary coverts the same; primary quill feathers blackish brown, except their inner vanes towards quills which are white; secondaries transversely banded gray and black with white tips; tail long, even, banded gray and black or brownish and black; tips of feathers white or dirty reddish white; chin, throat, and more or less of breast, blackish brown; rest of under parts pure white; cere inclined to yellow; bill greenish yellow towards base and black at tip; legs a livid white; claws black; eyes a reddish orange. Length of bird about two feet four inches.
Young of the first year an uniform reddish brown, after which they begin to change, and assume the colors above described. Inhabits most parts of the Colony, as well as the more interior parts of South Africa.
AQUILA VULTURINA. Mihi. – Fem. –
Front, crown, neck, interscapulars, and back, pale tawny, with here and there brownish variegations; tail coverts tawny or dirty white; shoulders varied tawny and dark brown; scapulars blackish brown, more or less distinctly tipt with reddish white; primary quill feathers blackish brown, some of them edged on outer vanes with tawny red, and all tipt with reddish white; secondaries dark dirty brown, narrowly edged and tipt with reddish white; primary quill feathers black; secondaries blackish brown on their outer vanes, on the inner grayish variegated by many transverse dark bands; tips of all reddish tawny; tail rounded, brownish gray, and much mottled by partial indistinct dusky black transverse narrow bands; tips of feathers all tawny; under parts tawny with brown variegations, particularly numerous on the flanks and anterior part of the belly; thighs dark ferruginous; toes and eere yellow; claws dark horn colored; bill a livid blue towards cere, dark horn colored towards apex: eyes reddish brown. Length of bird about two feet four inches; feeds commonly upon carrion; and is generally found in company with vultures throughout the whole of South Africa. The young are of an uniform tawny chesnut color, and without the brown variegations observed on the old.
(To be continued.)
Rookmaaker 2016, p. 18, no. 52
Rookmaaker, L.C., 2016. The zoological contributions of Andrew Smith (1797–1872) with an annotated bibliography and a numerical analysis of newly described animal species. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 72 (2): 105-173 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2016.1230078
Third installment of series
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