THE GOSHAWK. 271 



questioned by Mr. Layard, who is well known as an authority on African bii-ds, and who observed 

 the species in some abundance in certain parts of South Africa. According to this observer, the bird 

 will perch on the top of a high tree, utter its " mellow piping whistle," and fly off again. He has also 

 heard it call when flying. Now, although the Chanting Goshawks may not have such powers of song 

 as have been credited to them, it is certain that they really have a more varied note than is the case 

 with other Goshawks, and the Red-faced Goshawk (Melierax yobar) is said to whistle very much, and 

 better than M. canorus. About five different species of Chanting Goshawks are known, all being 

 from Africa : hence the genus Melierax is one of those forms characteristic of the Ethiopian region, 

 which embraces Africa below the Sahara desert. One species only, the Many-banded Goshawk 

 (Melierax polyzonus), a frequent bird in Abyssinia and Senegambia, is known to wander beyond the 

 limits of the above-named region, as it occui-s in Mogador, whence living specimens have been more 

 than once sent to the Zoological Gardens. 



The habits of the Chanting Goshawks are very similar to those of the ordinary Goshawks of more 

 northern climates, the larger species feeding on Quails, Fraiicolins, and other small game, reptiles, and 

 locusts, while the less powerful kinds devour small birds and reptiles. The colour of the plumage is a 

 pearly-grey in the South African Chanting Goshawk (M. canorus), the belly being white with greyish 

 cross-lines ; the rump is white ; the primary quills black; tail dusky, tipped with white and crossed by 

 broad white bars ; the cere and legs are red ; the iris dai-k brown. It measures about three feet in 

 length. This style of colouring is found in all the species, excepting one small one, which is entirely 

 black all over, save some white spots on the tail, and is known as the Black Goshawk (Melierax niger). 



THE TRUE GOSHAWKS (Astur). 



These are represented nearly all over the world, every country having one or more species of the 

 genus Astur, excepting the continent of South America, which possesses only two kinds, both of them 

 rare and of limited range. More than thirty different species of the genus have been described, and 

 they present great differences in size and style of coloration, their habits varying equally, according to 

 the strength and power of the birds ; but they are all remarkable for a veiy sturdy bill, and thick-set 

 legs and sharp talons. A Goshawk may always be told by the latter characters, and by its short 

 toes, which are perhaps smaller in proportion to the size of the bird than in any other group of the 

 birds of prey. 



These birds, and the Sparrow-Hawks, have very short wings, and have not the same power of 

 flight as in the true Falcons, which are long- winged birds ; and hence, in the old days of falconry, 

 they were never considered of such value as the Peregrine in the chase. They were also called Hawks 

 of the " fist." as they were flown at game from the hand, instead of soaring down on the quarry from 

 aloft. 



THE GOSHAWK (Astur palumbarius). 



This is the largest and most powerful of all the genus, as it is also the best known, being found 

 all over the northern parts of Europe and Asia. It used to be of more frequent occurrence in Britain 

 formerly than it is now ; and although it can only nest in this country on the rarest occasions in the 

 present day, the author was introduced to an old gamekeeper on the Marquis of Huntly's estate at 

 Aboyne, who perfectly remembered the Goshawk breeding regularly at Glentanner. A young bird is 

 still captured now and then in autumn, one of the last instances being that of a young male, who was 

 captured in an area at Hampstead, on the 3rd of August, 1872, and is now in the British Museum. 



It will feed on nearly every kind of bird and animal that it is able to catch, and in falconry it is 

 principally employed to take Hares and Rabbits ; it will also take Pheasants and Partridges, a great 

 number of these latter birds being killed by the Goshawk in its wild state. It is able to pursue its 

 quarry with great dexterity through a wooded country, and it possesses great powers of abstinence, 

 so that, if its prey escapes into cover for the time, the Hawk will often wait for its re-appearance, 

 and will generally exhaust the patience of the quarry, and succeed in capturing it. During the day- 

 time it remains solitary in dark fir-forests, and comes out to feed in the morning and evening. The 

 nest is often a huge structure, being added to year by year ; and an immense nest is figured in 



