24 



VERTEBRATA. 



'riif KonKz, Inohian, or RED-LEOOEn Falcon, F. veHpertinus, is ten and a half inches long, 

 of II Muish-LTrav aliovc ant! rt'd hciioath. Unlike otlu r falcons, all of which live solitary or in 

 pairs, this .speciis often ront^rei^ates in lK)eks. It bulMs in tall trees, lays three or four eggs, and 

 is found all over Europe, hut is most abundant at the north. 



The Hknoai, Falcon or Mahtin Falcon, F. coerulescens, is the smallest species of falcon that 

 is known ; it is of a hluish-hlack above and red beneath. The tail is crossed by four white lines, 

 it is found in hniia and Sumatra. 



The C'liicijiKKUA Falcon, /'. Chicqucrra, is ashy-gray above and white beneath, striped with 

 light grav. It is found in Java, in India and South Africa. 



The Ki Kois-nACKED Kestrel or Mountain Falcon, F.rupicoius, resembles the kestrel, and is 

 found at the Cape of Good Hope. 



The ( 'rested Falcon, F. frontalis, is of a steel-gray above; below it is of the same color, 

 with cross-bands of a darker tint. It is remarkable for its crest, which rises and falls according 

 to the passions which agitate it. It lives upon the borders of the sea, in which it fishes for crabs 

 and sliell-tish. It builds its nest on the rocks, and lays four or five eggs of a reddish-white color. 

 It is found in Southern Africa. 



The r>LACK-TiiKHiED Falcon, F. tibialis, is an African species of the size of a pigeon, of a 

 gniyish-brown above and a light red below. 



The Red-thioiied Falcon, F. femoralis — the Lead-colored Merlin of Azara — is a South Amer- 

 ican species, of a blackish lead-color above and lead-colored below. It builds on isolated trees, 

 and lays four or five eggs. 



The Little Falcon or American Sparrow-Hawk — the *S7. Domingo Merlin of Buffon — F. 



sparverins, is spread over the greater part of both North 

 and South America, and is familiarly known in the Uni- 

 ted States, It is reddish-bay above, transversely streaked 

 with black ; the lower parts yellowish-white, marked with 

 longitudinal lines of brown. It flies rather irregularly, 

 occasionally suspending itself in the air, hovering over 

 a particular spot for a minute or two, and then shooting 

 oflF in another direction. It perches on the top of a 

 dead tree or pole in the middle of a field or meadow, 

 and, as it alights, shuts its long wings so suddenly that 

 they seem instantly to disappear ; it sits here in an al- 

 most perpendicular position, sometimes for an hour at a 

 time, frequently jerking its tail, and reconnoitering the 

 ground below, in every direction, for mice, lizards, &c. 

 It approaches the farm-house, particularly in the morn- 

 ing, skulking about the barn-yard for mice or young 

 chickens. It frequently plunges into a thicket after 

 small birds, as if by random, but always with a par- 

 ticular, and generally a fatal aim. It is particularly 

 fond of watching along hedge-rows and in orchards, 

 where various kinds of small birds usually resort. 

 When grasshoppers are plenty they form a considerable 

 part of its food. The male is ten inches long. This 

 species lives on grasshoppers, snakes, mice, lizards, and 

 small birds. The blue jays have a particular antipathy 

 to this bird, and frequently insult it by following and im- 

 itating its notes so exactly as to deceive even those well 

 acquainted with both. In return for all this abuse, the 

 hawk contents himself with now and then feasting on 

 the plumpest of his persecutors, who are, therefore, in 

 perpetual dread of him; and yet, through some strange infatuation, or from fear that, if they lose 



HEAD AND FOOT OP AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWK. 



