50 BIRDS. ACCIPITRES. Falco. 



Length 12, breadth 27 inches; weight 7 ounces. Bill blue; irides'hazel ; 

 margin of the eye, cere, and/legs, yellow. The plumage, above, is bluish-black, 

 the margins of the feathers paler; below, white, with longitudinal black spots. 

 Above each eye a white line ; hind-head with two yellow spots. Quills (the 

 first of which is almost equal hi length to the third), dusky black ; the inner 

 webs with oval transverse reddish spots. Rump, thighs, and vent, pale 

 orange. Tail with brownish bars, the tips white ; two middle feathers entire- 

 ly of a deep dove colour. In the female the plumage has a reddish tinge. 

 Nest placed on trees, rocks, or heath. Eggs 3 or 4. Young lighter coloured ; 

 feathers above bordered with yellowish red, especially the crown ; below, 



tinged yellowish-red, with longitudinal brown spots The hobby pursues 



larks, and is occasionally used in hunting with the net, to frighten the birds 

 and prevent them from taking wing. Departs in October. 



b. Destitute of mustaches. Inner xcebs of the first and se- 

 cond quills abbreviated towards the extremity ; outer web 

 of the second abbreviated. Tarsi reticulated. 



13. F. Tinnuncidus. Kestrel, Stannel, or Wind-Hover. — 

 Middle toe shorter than the tarsus. 



Will. Orn. 50. Sibb. Scot. 15. Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 195. Tern. Orn. i. 

 29. — W, Cudyll coch — Stationary and common. 



Length 14, breadth 27 inches; weight CJ ounces. Bill blue; cere and feet 

 yellow. Back and wing-covers red, with black spots ; head and rump grey. 

 A black streak descends from the gape. Under parts pale rust colour, spot- 

 ted and barred with black ; thighs and vent plain. Quills 22, dusky, spotted 

 with white. Tail grey, with a broad black bar near the end; feathers 12, 

 slightly arched, with the two middle ones incumbent, and nearly half an 

 inch longer than the rest. Wings, when closed, reach about three-fourths of 

 the length of the tail. Oil-bag very small, with a tuft of yellowish feathers, 

 dark at the base. Palate bluish, with two rows of recurved teeth. Vermi- 

 form appendages |th of an inch, fixed. A small caecum about gths. Female with 

 the plumage, above, the same as the back ; beneath paler, with indistinct spots 

 and streaks. Tail with transverse dusky bars, and a broad one at the end. 

 Nest placed in hollows of trees, rocks, or ruins. Eggs 4, dirty white, with 

 red blotches. Young like the female — Feeds on mice and beetles ; and may 

 be seen in the act of seeking for its prey, hovering stationary, at some height, 

 in the air, with its head to windward. 



14. F. j3?salon. Merlin. — Middle toe as long as the tarsus. 



Will. Orn. 50. Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 200. — Merlin or Stone-Falcon, Mont. 



Orn. Diet. Suppt. Tern. Orn. i. 27 — W, Corwalch — N ear woods Not 



common. 



Length 12, breadth 25 inches; weight 5j ounces. Bill blue; cere, margin 

 of the eye and feet lemon-yellow. Plumage, above, bluish-grey, with a longi- 

 tudinal black spot on each feather ; beneath, the throat is white, and the re- 

 mainder yellowish-white, with oblong dusky spots pointing downwards. 

 Quills reaching two-thirds of the tail ; the first nearly equal to the fourth. 

 Tail-feathers with bands, and an entire dark broad one tipt with white at the 

 end. In the female, the plumage is tinged with brown, and the spots below 

 are more numerous. Nest in trees or on the ground. Eggs 5 or C; white, 



marked with greenish colour at one end. Young like the female Preys on 



small birds, and is exceedingly active — Visits the south of England in Octo- 

 ber, but breeds in the north and in Scotland. 



Gen. VII. GYRFALCO. (Hierofalco of Cuvier.) Jer- 

 falcon. — Notch of the bill obsolete. Tarsi reticulated. 



