271 



SKETCHES OF EUROPEAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



Gould's " Birds of Europe/' 



Third Part. 



Plate I. — The Jer-Falcon, — Falco Islandicus, — Faucon Ger- 

 faut, i^r.,— Sparviere bianco di Moscovia, iL^—der Islandische 

 Falke, G.,— constitutes the noble subject of this plate. Two figures, 

 illustrative of the striking varieties of plumage in the young and 

 adult; are admirably represented. From the observations of Mr. 

 Gould, it appears probable that, under the common designation of 

 Jer-falcon, two distinct species have hitherto been confounded. One 

 of these, the true Jer-falcon of Iceland, — Faucon d'Islande, Fr. ? — 

 is regarded, by Falconers, as a much more rare, courageous, rapidly- 

 flying, and valuable bird, than the other,— Gerfaut de Norwege, ? 

 — commonly obtained from Norway. They are said to differ, also, 

 in the comparative length of wing with respect to the tail. The 

 Jer-falcon is the type of the true Falcons, and, consequently, of 

 the genus, Falco, as constituted by modern ornithologists. It is a 

 native of northern Europe, and occasionally visits the Orkney and 

 Shetland isles. An accurate figure of this noble bird is given, by 

 Werner, in Plate V. of the Atlas des Oiseaux d' Europe, and an in- 

 teresting account, by Swainson and Richardson, in vol. ii., p. 27, 

 of the Fauna Boreali-Americana.* The question respecting the 

 specific identity, or difference, of the birds obtained from Iceland 

 and Norway, is well entitled to the attention of ornithologists. 



Plate II. — The Azure-winged IMag-pie, — Pica cyanea, or 

 more correctly, cyanoptera. This rare and elegant bird, a native of 

 Spain, has not hitherto been described by Temminck, nor any other 

 European ornithologist with whose works we are acquainted, ex- 

 cept Wagler, in his Systema Avium. It strongly resembles its 

 lively, impudent, and more common congener, in structure and 

 habits. The following is the specific description, as traced by 

 Gould ; whose figure of the bird is as correctly drawn as splendidly 

 coloured : Beak and legs black. Vertex, occiput, and ear-coverts, 

 black, with shining violet reflections. Back and rump ashy rose- 

 colour. Throat white. Under surface same as, but a few shades 

 lighter than, the back. Wings and tail delicate azure-blue : pri- 

 maries, excepting the first two, which are black, white on outer 



• Termed, also, Northern Zgology. 



