[en] Excitation functions for α + ⁴⁰,⁴⁴Ca elastic scattering have been measured with bombarding energies in the range of 20--27 MeV in 50-keV steps at several angles between 150 and 175degree. For ⁴⁰Ca excitation functions were also taken in 10-keV steps over a limited interval. Statistical fluctuations were observed in all the excitation functions and were found to be generally stronger for ⁴⁴Ca than for ⁴⁰Ca. An analysis of the fluctuations yields a relative compound contribution of about 2% for ⁴⁰Ca and greater than about 5% for ⁴⁴Ca. The backward enhancement in α + ⁴⁰Ca scattering, observed by many previous workers, is shown to arise primarily from a direct contribution and not from a fluctuating compound one