BLACK-CHINNED GOSHAWK. 115 



the impressioa that it is closely allied to those more 

 slender species which are represented by our own 

 sparrow-hawk, and those which we have here de- 

 scribed. From all these, however, the bird before 

 us differs, in having the second quill so very long 

 that it is only half an inch shorter than the third, this 

 latter and the fourth being the longest of all. This 

 prolongation of the wing clearly indicates a much 

 more rapid and powerful flight than is enjoyed by 

 our species, whose third quill-feather has the pro- 

 portions of the second in this species, and where the 

 fourth is even shorter than the fifth. In the feet, 

 the two birds essentially differ. Although so differ- 

 ent in size, the tarsus of our British hawk is just 

 as long as that we are now describing, and yet the 

 tarsus of this is nearly three times as thick as 

 that of the sparrow-hawk ; this great accession of 

 strength and of muscular power in the foot plainly 

 shews that the Senegal bird feeds upon much 

 larger and more noble game than our English one : 

 while the middle claw, instead of being very long, 

 is of the same length as in the true Falcons. The 

 surface of the feet, or rather the scales by which 

 they are covered, are very different. In this the 

 series placed in front of the tarsus are by no means 

 smooth, since their sutures are distinct and promi- 

 nent ; they are transverse, and composed of about 

 nine pieces, while those on the sides and back are 

 small, numerous, and hexagonal : not, like the 

 sparrow-hawk, in smooth and nearly entire pieces. 

 We will now compare our bird with the white 



