GREAT-FOOTED HAWK. 7 



FAMILY FALCONID^. 



Sub-Family FALCONING. THE FALCONS. 



FALCO, LINN.EUS. 



Falco, LINN.EUS, Syst. Nat. 1. 124 (1766). 



General form robust and compact. Bill short, curved strongly from the base to 

 the point, which is very sharp, and near which is a distinct and generally prominent 

 tooth; nostrils circular, with a central tubercle; wings long, pointed, formed for 

 vigorous, rapid, and long-continued flight; tail rather long and wide; tarsi short, 

 robust, covered with circular or hexagonal scales; middle toe long; claws large, 

 strong, curved, and very sharp. 



FALCO ANATUM. Bonaparte. 

 The Duck Hawk ; Great-Footed Hawk. 



Falco anatum, Bonap. Comp. List, p. 4 (1838). 



" Falco peregrinus," Wilson, Audubon, and other authors. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Adult. Frontal band white; entire upper parts bluish-cinereous, with trans- 

 verse bands of brownish-black, lighter on the rump ; under parts yellowish-white, 

 with cordate and circular spots of black on the breast and abdomen, and transverse 

 bands of black on the sides, under tail coverts, and tibise ; quills and tail brownish- 

 black, the latter with transverse bars of pale cinereous; cheeks with a patch of 

 black ; bill light-blue ; tarsi and toes yellow Sexes alike. 



Younger. Entire upper parts brownish-black; frontal spot obscure; large 

 space on the cheeks black; under parts dull yellowish-white, darker than in adult, 

 and with longitudinal stripes of brownish-black; tarsi and toes bluish-lead color, 

 iris hazel. 



Total length, eighteen to twenty inches; wing, fourteen to fifteen; tail, seven 

 to eight inches. 1 



THE Duck Hawk, which by the name of Peregine Falcon 

 is known to my readers as one of the most rapacious of 

 our birds of prey, is not uncommon in many portions of 

 New England. It is nearly identical with the European 

 species, and its habits and destructiveness are equally great 

 with that bird. In its habitat, it is oftener found in the 

 neighborhood of the sea-coast than in the interior. It is a 

 powerful bird, of rapid flight and great boldness and cour- 



1 See Introduction. 



