FAMILY FALCONID.E; HAWKS. 407 



among them does not inspire them with alarm. The Osprey is 

 about two feet in length ; and about five feet four inches in the 

 expanse of its wings. 



371. The Hawks constitute another section of the Ignoble 

 Birds of Prey ; but, in many of their characters and habits, they 

 present an exceedingly close approach to the Falcons. The beak 

 of the Hawks resembles that of the Falcons in its general form, 

 being curved from the base ; but the wings are shorter, and want 

 the pointed tips which are characteristic of that division of the 

 family. As is the case with the Falcons and Eagles, the most 

 powerful Hawks are found in cold latitudes ; but they are not so 

 much Birds of the mountain, the storm, and of the free sky, 

 rather inhabiting hilly countries where there are woods, and 

 seeking their prey near the ground. The Gos-Hawk is un- 

 questionably the finest of the 

 whole tribe ; being distin- 

 guished alike by its size, the 

 beauty of its plumage, and 

 the elegance of its contour. 

 The female measures about 

 24 inches in length ; the male 

 19 or 20. It frequents the 

 deep solitudes of forests, 

 preying -upon hares, squir- 

 rels, and the larger ground 

 Birds ; and it builds its nest 

 in lofty trees, preferring, it 

 is said, the fir. Notwith- 

 standing its size and power } 

 it will not attempt to con- 

 tend with even the smaller inhabitants of the air, such as swal- 

 lows ; for when a number of them attack it together, they drive 

 at it in all directions, and so perplex and annoy it, that it retreats 

 to a sheltered covert. The Gos-Haivk was formerly one of the 

 most valued of the Falconer's Birds : it does not rise upon its 

 prey, however, after the manner of the true Falcons ; but darts 

 along near the ground, with arrow-like impetuosity, threading 



