ACniMrUKS — A(nnLID/E 195 



ASTUR. 



Size moderate; wing short and rounded; lower part of 

 tarsus bare, covered with transverse oblong scales as in 

 Buzzards. Swift, bold, and rapacious; .nest on trees; eggs 

 pale bluish or greenish white, markings ill-defined or none. 



Astur gentilis gentilis (L.). Goshawk. Fr. Autour ; 

 Gcr. Hiihnerhal^icht ; It<il. Astore ; Siued. Dufhok. 



(^ $ Above grey brown, ear coverts brown ; beneath white 

 barred brown, tail indistinctly barred. liill bluish horn. Cere 

 greenish yellow. Legs and feet yellow. Iris orange yellow. 

 Wing ^ 310-335, ? 350-383- Tarsus ^ 70, ? 73-80. Bill 

 ^ 20-22, 9 25-28, Immature plumage : underparts with long 

 oval brown drop-like spots, tail distinctly barred. Young : first 

 plumage above browner, rufous on hind neck and under- 

 parts. 



Resident. — Continental Europe from forest limit to Mediter- 

 ranean, Sicily, N. Morocco, and Algeria ; also Asia Minor. 

 Rare visitor to Britain, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, and 

 Tunisia. 



The Central and S. European birds have been separated as 

 "A. g. gallinarum" Brehm on account of young being lighter 

 coloured than those from typical region (Scandinavia). 



A. gentilis arrigonii Kleinschmidt. Smaller, darker above, 

 ear coverts black, bars on underparts much darker. Wing 

 ^ 297-306, $ 335-346 (H.). 



Resident. — Corsica and Sardinia. 



A. gentilis schvedowi Menzbier. Above greyer, less brown ; 

 beneath bars much narrower. Wing <^ -90-333, y up to 

 360 (H.). 



A North Asian race, whose ranj^e extends to Orenburg and 

 Lower Volga. 



A. gentilis albidus Menzbier. A pure white form with faint 

 bars, streaks or mottling of pale grey brown according to sex 

 or age. 



Breeds. — Siberia, but occurs west to Archangel and N. 

 Caucasus. 



