52 BIRDS OF PREV. 



tinguished by the superior whiteness of their plumage 

 whicli augments with age, and by the increasing narrow- 

 ness of the transverse stripes that ornament the upper 

 parts of the body. The finest of these Falcons were 

 caught in Iceland by means of baited nets ; the bait was 

 commonly a Ptarmigan, Pigeon, or common Fowl, and 

 such was the velocity and power of his pounce, that he 

 commonly severed the head from the baited bird as 

 nicely as if it had been done by a razor. These birds 

 were reserved for the kings of Denmark, and from thence 

 they were formerly transported into Germany, and even 

 Turkey and Persia. The taste for the amusement of 

 falconry was once very prevalent throughout Europe, 

 and continued for several centuries, but at this time it 

 has almost wholly subsided. The Tartars, and Asiatics 

 generally, were also equally addicted to this amusement. 

 A Sir Thomas Monson, no later than the reign of James 

 the First, is said to have given a thousand pounds for a 

 cast of Hawks. 



Next to the Eagle, this bird is the most formidable, 

 active, and intrepid, and was held in the highest esteem 

 for falconry. It boldly attacks the largest of birds ; the 

 Stork, Heron, and Crane are to it easy victims ; in its 

 native regions it lives much on the hare and Ptarmigan; 

 upon these it darts with astonishing velocity, and often 

 seizes its prey by pouncing upon it almost perpendicu- 

 larly. They breed in the cold and desert regions where 

 they usually dwell, fixing their nests amidst the most 

 lofty and inaccessible rocks, and are said to lay from 

 3 to 5 eggs. 



In the old male, the bottom of all the plumage is white, striped upon 

 the upper parts of the body and the tail with narrow brown bands. 

 The lower parts are equally white, but marked with small brown 

 spots in the form of tears ; these spots are larger and more numer- 

 ous upon the flanks. The bill is yellowish. 



