ASTUR. 397 



Key to the Species. 



a. Fourth quill longest. 



a'. Size large wing 12 to 15 A. pahimharius, p. 397. 



h' . Size small, wing 7 to 9 A. hadius., p. 398. 



h. Third quill longest, wing about 7-5 A. soloensis, p. 400. 



1243. Astur palumbarius. The Goshawl-. 

 Falco palumbarius, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 130 (1766). 



p. 23; 



Astur palumbarius, Cuv. Rvgne An. i, p. 320; BIyth, Cat. p 

 Horsf. 8f M. Cat. i, p. 41; Jerdon, B. I. i, p. 45 ; StoUczTca, J. A. 

 S. B. xxxvii, pt. 2, p. 13 ; Hume, Roiiyh Notes, p. 112 ; id. N. Sf E. 

 p. 24 ; id. Cat. no. 21 ; id. S. F. xi, p. 6 ; Jerdon, Ibis, 1871, p. 243 ; 

 Shaiye, Cat. B. M. i, p. 95 ; Gurney, Ibis, 1875, p. 353 ; Biddulph, 

 Ibis, 1881, p. 40 : Scully, ibid. p. 419 ; Oates in Hume's N. ^ E. 

 2nd ed. iii, p. 118. 

 Baz 2 , Jarra S , H. 



Coloration. In adult birds the upper parts are brown, with a 

 more or less ashy tint, occasionally almost ashy grey ; the crown, 

 area behind eye, ear-coverts, and sides of neck darker, sometimes 

 almost black ; forehead, lores, long supercilia, and nuchal patch 

 uniting them behind streaked and mixed with white ; quills brown 

 above, whitish below, with dark bars ; tail light brown or brown 

 mottled with white above, paler below, crossed by four broad dark 

 brown bars and tipped buffy white ; lower parts white, with 

 blackish shafts and brown bars, which become narrower and more 

 numerous in older birds ; lower tail-coverts white unbarred. 



Young birds are brown above, most of the feathers edged or 

 tipped with buffy white ; crown, nape, and hind-neck with broad 

 buff or pale rufous edges ; quills as in the adult, but with the 

 barring more distinct above ; tail with 5 dark cross-bars and 

 tipped with buff ; lower parts buff or pale rufous, with brown 

 longitudinal oval spots, each having a black shaft-line in the 

 middle. Nestlings are covered with pure white down. 



Length of female 24 ; tail 11 ; wing 14 ; tarsus 3*3 : of a male — 

 length 20 ; tail 9*5 ; wing 12-5 ; tarsus 3-2. 



Bill bluish horny ; cere yellow, with a greenish tinge ; iris and 

 legs yellow. 



Distribution. Europe generally ; Northern and Central Asia. 

 The Goshawk is found throughout the Himalayas, but not at low- 

 elevations except occasionally in winter. Hume obtained a 

 specimen from the Khasi hills. Jerdon thought he had seen 

 this bird on the Nilgiris, but it has not since been observed there 

 or elsewhere in the Indian Peninsula. 



Habits, Sfc. The Goshawk keeps to woods, and preys on 

 pheasants, partridges, pigeons, and other birds and on small 

 mammals. It breeds on trees in the Himalayas from March till 

 June, making a large circular nest of coarse twigs, and laying 

 3 or 4 eggs, usually nearly pure white, but occasionally spotted 

 or blotched. 



The hen Goshawk is the favourite Hawk for sporting in India ; 

 many are brought from the Himalayas and Central Asia and 



