46 RAPTORES. FALCO. HOBBY. 



for more than one- third of their length) are reticulated, but 

 shew three large scales at the bottom, and on a line with the 

 middle toe, though not so broad or distinctly marked as 

 those in the Merlin, the Rusty-crowned Falcon, or the Kes- 

 trels. This species preys upon Quails and small birds, and, 

 like some of the other lesser Falcons, much upon the larger 

 coleopterous insects. TEMMINCK, in his " Manual," men- 

 tions that Mr MEYER found nothing but the remains of 

 beetles in the stomachs of such as he dissected. It inhabits 

 wooded districts, and is a common species in Russia, Poland, 

 and Austria, reaching as far westward as the Tyrol and 

 Switzerland ; but in France, as in this country, it is of rare 

 occurrence. 



General The old male bird is described as having the head, neck, 

 tiara* 1 * " breast, and upper parts of the body, of an uniform blackish- 

 Male, grey ; the abdomen and thighs reddish-brown ; the cere, eye- 

 orbits, and legs rich orange-red; and the claws yellowish, 

 Female. w ^ tn darker points. The female is larger, and differs widely 

 from the male in appearance, in the adult state ; the head 

 and nape of the neck are of an uniform pale reddish-brown, 

 with a dark circle round the eye; the throat and cheeks 

 white; the breast and abdomen tinged with pale reddish- 

 brown, the shafts of the feathers being dark brown. Upper 

 plumage deep bluish-grey, barred with greyish-black. Tail 

 bluish-grey, with several bars of black, of which the one 

 nearest the tip is the broadest. The young females, accord- 

 ing to GOULD, have the head streaked with a darker colour. 



PLATE B. The following is the description of the bird from 

 which the figure upon the plate was taken, and which I 

 conceive to be a female of the second year. Crown of 

 the head, nape, and moustache, pale reddish-brown. 

 Eye-orbits encircled by a patch of greyish-black. Fore- 

 head, cheeks, and throat pale reddish-white. Lower 

 part of the hind-neck, and^adjoining the mantle, reddish- 



