AV£S. 10 1 



206. Circaetiis gallicus. (Gmel. Syst. Nat. i., p. 295, No. 52.) 

 Short-toed Eag-le. 



This Eagle, which lives entirely on reptiles, is beyond all doubt the 

 most abundant of the Eagle tribe from early spring to the commencement 

 of winter in Palestine. A few remain throughout the year, but the 

 greater number retire, probably to Arabia, during the period when the 

 lizards and snakes hybernate. It is a very fearless bird, sitting on a tree 

 or a rock till closely approached, and with its large flat head, its huge 

 yellow eyes glaring round, and brightly spotted breast, is one of the most 

 dignified of the Eagle tribe. The enormous number of lizards and ser- 

 pents in Palestine accounts for its abundance. The tesselated scaling of 



o 



its tarsi is a remarkable provision against the possibility of injury from 

 its serpent quarry. It breeds in trees, not in rocks. 



The Short-toed Eagle is found throughout Central Europe, but very 

 sparingly. It is not unfrequent in all the countries bordering on the 

 Mediterranean, in Arabia, Persia, Southern Turkestan, and India. 



207. Astur pahmibarius. (Linn. Syst. Nat. i., p. 126.) Goshawk. 



No record of the capture of the Goshawk south of the Lebanon is 

 known. But it has been obtained in the mountains near Beyrout, where 

 I have seen it. I have observed it more than once in the mountains of 

 Northern Syria. 



Though only an occasional wanderer to the British Isles, the Goshawk 

 is found throughout Europe and Asia, as far as North India and Northern 

 China. In North Africa it is occasionally met with. 



208. Accipiter nisus. (Linn. Syst. Nat. i., p. 130.) Sparrow 

 Hawk. Hebr., p {generic for all small Hawks.) Arab., ^^^^., 

 B as Ink. 



Very common about olive-groves and clumps of wood in winter in the 

 south, and also in all the oases and shrubby places about the Dead Sea 

 and Jordan valley. It feeds especially on the Marsh Sparrow {Passer 

 salicarius), which swarms in these localities. It disappears in April 

 from the lower country, but remains in the hilly parts of Galilee, in 

 Lebanon, and Hermon. 



