THE GOS-HAWK. 107 



and in the days of falconry it was much used for flying at 

 " low game/' that is, game which remains on the ground, or 

 does not rise very high above it, such as hares, rabbits, wild 

 ducks, and the wild gallinae. 



The gos-hawk is a longer bird than even the jer-falcon, but 

 the superior length is in the tail feathers rather than in the 

 body, and it is shorter in the wings and altogether less com- 

 pact and powerful, while it is not nearly so elegant as the 

 peregrine; but still it is a very fine bird, and justly entitled 

 to be considered as the model of the short-winged or low- 

 flighted hawks. In the full grown female the general colour 

 of the whole upper parts, the ear coverts, and a streak con- 

 tinued thence to the shoulder, is blackish brown, the back 

 mottled, the edges of the ear coverts relieved, and the quills 

 and tail feathers margined with light tints of reddish brown. 

 Between the nostril and the eye is grey, and the rest of the 

 under part white, with numerous arrow-head spots and lines 

 of brown, which are very delicate on the long feathers of the 

 legs, and obscure or wanting on the vent and under tail- 

 coverts. The tail and tail feathers are obtuse-pointed, and 

 tipped with white. The colours, though not showy, are well 

 contrasted. The naked parts are yellow, the irides grey, and 

 the eye very quick and penetrating. The male has the top 

 of the head and the neck much lighter, and a reddish tinge 

 over the greater part of the body. The spots on the under 

 part are also fewer, much paler, and generally of an oval 

 shape. The male is not above two-thirds of the length of 

 the female, is not nearly so well shouldered or winged, and 

 altogether a very inferior bird. The gos-hawk is not so pro- 

 lific as the fe smaller falcons and hawks, the eggs seldom if ever 

 exceeding four. The young are much more of a red or rusty 

 colour, especially on the under parts, than the mature birds. 

 They pass through several tints of plumage, and as is the 

 case with most birds which do that, the permanent colour 



