Folia Historico-Naturalia Musei Matraensis - A Mátra Múzeum Természetrajzi Közleményei 21. (1996)

Summary Falco subbuteo: - the omal end of the bone is large and robust, the processus acromialis and processus acrocoracoideus are large and high, - the scapus claviculae is widest in this species, - the omal end of the bone is strongly widening in the line of the processus acrocoracoideus, - there is an apex on the dorsal edge of the apophysis furculae, too. Falco columbarius: - the omal end of the bone is small, the scapus claviculae is wide, - the claviculae meet in an acute angle, and in lateral view they are least curved in this species. Falco tinnunculus: - the scapus claviculae is narrow, - the stretch of the claviculae is widest in this species, -there is no apex even on the ventral edge of apophysis furculae. Falco vespertinus: - the clavicula is small, - the processus acromialis and processus acrocoracoideus are relatively large here compared to other Kestrels, - the omal end of the bone is slightly widening in the line of the processus acrocoracoideus, - in lateral view the clavicula is most curved in this species, - on the ventral edge of apophysis furculae there are often two smaller apexes next to each-other. Falco naumanni. - the clavicula is small, - the ventral edge of apophysis furculae is smooth, or there is only an almost indétectable apex on it. Coracoideum In the length of the coracoideum there is a considerable overlap among the species. Only the Eleonora's Falcon and Lesser Kestrel separates clearly from the rest of the species (Plate VII, Figure 1). Even the coracoideum of the male Eleonora's Falcons is considerably larger than that of the female Hobby. The coracoideum of the Merlin and Red-footed Falcon is relatively long. This is shown by the fact that the size range of the Merlin and Hobby overlaps completely, and the size range of the Red-footed Falcon largely overlaps with that of the Kestrel. The maximum of the Lesser Kestrel range does not reach the minimal values of the Red-footed Falcon individuals. In the Hobby and Merlin the sexes are separating clearly by their size. Among the studied species the coracoideum of the Hobby and Eleonora's Falcon is the most robust. The omal end of the bone is largest in these species, the corpus coracoidei is thick, the sternal end of the bone is wide. The processus lateralis at the sternal end of the bone is absent in all of the species, or maybe only its traces are found in some individuals (Plate XXXVI, Figures 10-14). But the arch of this lateral edge is characteristic for the species. This more arched in the Hobby, and sometimes even the processus lateralis is formed (Plate XXXVI, Figure 10). In the Merlin the omal end of the bone is considerably smaller, the corpus is thinner (CW), and the sternal end of the bone is also thinner than in the other species. The 5th 23