182 



FALCO SUBBUTEO. 



THE HOBBY. 



Wings longer than the tail. Of the male the upper 

 parts greyish-black, the lower parts whitish, with lon- 

 gitudinal brownish-black markings, lower tail-coverts 

 and tibial feathers red, a black band from the angle of 

 the mouth. Of the female the upper parts dark brown, 

 the lower reddish-white with broader dark brown mark- 

 ings, the lower tail-coverts and tibial feathers as in the 

 male, but paler. 



Male. — The Hobby, which in colour seems a small 

 edition of the Peregrine Falcon, is of a more slender 

 form than that species, although compact in structure, 

 and inferior to no falcon in spirit. The head is large, 

 broad behind, flattened above ; the neck short and 

 strong ; the body elongated ovate, rather deeper than 

 broad anteriorly. The bill is short and very strong ; 

 the upper mandible with its dorsal line curved from 

 the base, so as to form nearly the fourth of a circle, its 

 sides convex, its edges sharp, with a slight central fes^ 

 toon, and a distinct angular process ; the tip trigonal, 

 sharp edged, its lower pai't perpendicular. The cere 

 is short, its margins convex before the nostril, concave 

 below and sloping rapidly towards the angle of the 

 mouth. The lower mandible has the angle very broad 

 and short, the dorsal line convex, the back broad and 

 rounded, the sides convex, the edges inflected, the tip 



