WHISTLING HAWKS. 241 



attains a length of 19^, and the female of 23 inches. The goshawk has a 



range nearly the same as that of the sparrow-hawk, although it does not appear 



to descend from the Himalaya to the jilains of India. In North America it is 



replaced by the American goshawk {A. atricajnllus), distinguished by its slightly 



superior size, and by the plumage of the under-parts being merely flecked with 



ashy grey, instead of barred. Although rare in Britain, the goshawk is common in 



Germany and other parts of the Continent, breeding as far north as Lapland. 



Instead of " stooping " to its quarry, after the manner of the falcons, the goshawk 



flies along after it, and takes by the mode technically known as " raking." It is 



flown at the larger game-birds, as well as at hares and rabbits; and will not 



unfrequently follow its prey for some distance in covert. The nest is usually built 



in a tall tree on the outskirts of a wood or forest ; and may contain from three 



to four eggs, which are white, and may be either unspotted, or more or less 



streaked with olive, or flecked with reddish brown. 



_ . Nearly allied to the goshawks is a group of African species (one 



Whistling Hawks. . . ° . . ^ 



of which is represented on the right side of the illustration on 



p. 246), characterised by the possession of a more tuneful voice than hawks in 



general. By recent observers the note of these birds is described as a mellow 



piping whistle ; and, accordingly^, it seems better that they should be designated 



whistling hawks, rather than " chanting goshawks," as they were originally termed, 



when somewhat exaggerated notions obtained as to the extent of their vocal 



powers. These hawks differ from the goshawks by the presence of a tubercle in 



the nostrils, situated near the upper margin ; while they are distinguished from an 



allied South American genus by the small extent to which the metatarsus is 



feathered, and by the whole of the outer side of that segment of the leg being 



covered with reticulate scales. 



The many-zoned hawk {Melierax polyzonus), which is the species represented 



in our illustration, is a large and handsomely-coloured bird inhabiting North- 



Eastern Africa, and ranging thence across the continent to Senegambia. The males 



measure 20J inches, and the females 21 inches in length. Like all the species save 



one, the general colour of the upper-parts is pearly grey, the chest ashy grey, and 



the abdomen white, barred with a number of very line greyish black bands, so as 



to present a kind of speckled appearance. The species is particularly characterised 



by the absence of bars on the middle tail-feathers, and the white upper tail-coverts 



barred with slaty grey. The bill is blackish, with a vermilion base, the iris pale 



brown, and the legs, feet, and cere vermilion. A nearly allied species is the 



South African whistling hawk {M. canoras); but the much smaller and widely 



distributed black whistling hawk (M. niger) differs from all tlie others by its sable 



plumage, in striking contrast to which stands out tlie brilliant red of the iris, cere, 



base of the bill, and feet and legs. In Abyssinia the figured species is found at 



considerable elevations above the sea. Mr. Blanford states that it is usually to be 



seen perched on a tree, although occasionally on the ground ; and that its food 



consists of reptiles and insects. Its flight is rather slow, and somewhat like that 



of a buzzard, and is seldom prolonged for any great distance. 



Oinittinof mention of three unimportant wnera, two of which 



are South American and the other West African, we come to the 



VOL. IV. — 16 



