AVES. 545 



s. 83 — 121, s. 161 — 212, s. 241 — 283, 325 — 386, and, with some altera- 

 tions, translated as a short extract in Jardine's Contrib. to Ornith. 1849, 

 1850; and on this family as well as on the whole order: J. F. Brandt 

 Die Gruppen und Gattungcn cler Rauhvor/el Rmslands, in the Journal fur 

 Ornith. edited by J. Cabanis, 1855, s. 178 — 195, s. 225 — 240. 



The falcons are very numerous. Their skeleton differs from that 

 of the nocturnal birds of prey in many characters; the form of the 

 skull is quite different, and it is only slightly pneumatic, ih.Qfurcula 

 is strong, broad and expanded, the sternum is larger (an elongated 

 rectangle), it is not incised behind, but presents an oval aperture on 

 each side, which, however, is often entirely absent, as in the eagles, 

 &c. Their coeca are very short. 



The plumage presents great differences of colour at different 

 periods of life. The females are constantly larger than the males; 

 they lay rarely more than five, the larger species only two eggs, 

 which are almost always white, with red-brown spots. Most of the 

 species feed on live animals, yet some will seize on carrion also. 



Falco L. (in part), Bechst. Bill curved, short; upper mandible 

 furnished on each side towards the tip with one or two teeth, lower 

 shorter, truncate and emarginate to receive the tooth of upper. 

 Wings elongate, with first and third quills mostly suhequal, the 

 second longest of all. Tail subeven, broad. Tarsi below the heel 

 clothed with the lengthened plumes of tibia3, reticulate or covered 

 with hexagonal scutes, short, strong. 



Sp. Falco peregrimis Gm., (Falco communis Briss., Gm., Cuv.), Buff. PI. 

 enl. 430, 421, 469, Naum. Taf. 24, 25, Susem. Vog. Eur. Tab. 8, Cuv. B. 

 Ani., id. ill., Ois. PI. 9, fig. 2; the peregrine falcon, lefaucon, der Tauben- 

 falke; this species is dispersed over a great part of the old world, and in 

 North America also a species occurs which differs from it little or perhaps 

 not at all {Falco anattim Bonap.) ; WiLS. Amer. Orn. PI. 76. — Falco pere- 

 grinoides Temm. PI. col. 479, Nubia. 



The falcons used in falconry are characterised by a longer tail and 

 shorter toes. Falco candicans Gm., Falco groenlandicus Brehm, Buff. 

 PI. enl. 446, Naum. Taf. 21, fig, i, Susem. Vogel Eur. Tab. 6 a, from the 

 northern parts of the new and the old world, and (the Iceland variety?) 

 Falco islandus Brunn., Naum. Taf. 21, fig. 2, Susem. Taf. 7. Compare 

 Hancock in Annals of Nat. Hist. 1838. From both of these Schlegel 

 distinguishes the Norwegian species Falco gyrfalco {Falco lanarius L. 

 Faun. Suec.?), Buff. Hist. nat. xvi. PI. 13, which also occurs occasionally 

 in the North of Germany and in Holland ; rare in England. (Sundevall 

 refers all the three to one species, Aorsber. 1844.) See on these species and 

 on falconry the splendid work Traite de Fauconnerle, par H. Schlegel 



VOL. II. 35 



