ORDER ACCIPITRES. 237 



lower toe the longest of all ; the first reraex the shortest, the 

 fourth the longest ; the wings scarcely reaching half the length 

 of the tail, which is rounded. 



The differences between the two sections consist in the re- 

 spective proportions of the beak, tarsi, and toes. The hawks 

 have the beak shorter, the tarsi more elongated and slender 

 than the goshawks ; they also have the last phalanx of the 

 intermediate toe passing the talons of the lateral toes ; the 

 tongue is also more sloped than that of the goshawks, and the 

 latter in general are stronger built, and of a less elegant shape. 



The hawks and goshawks have also, in their plumage, a 

 character which distinguishes them from other birds of prey ; 

 when adult and past the second moulting, they have transverse 

 stripes on the lower parts of the body, where, previously to this 

 age, there were longitudinal bands. 



With respect to the natural habits of these birds, the con- 

 formation of their wings does not permit them to fly so high, nor 

 so long, as some of the other Accipitres, which have longer wings ; 

 and it obliges them to employ stratagem in the procuring of 

 their prey, while the other raptores fall upon it almost perpen- 

 dicularly. Their flight is low and horizontal, and they dart 

 sideways on the birds which pass within their reach. When 

 obliged to repose, they fix in the midst of tufted trees, from 

 which they watch partridges, fringillse, field-mice, and other 

 small raammifera. This mode of hunting naturally removes 

 them from the open fields which are bare of trees. The gos- 

 hawks, being stronger, attack hens and pigeons. All these 

 birds deplume their feathered prey, and tear it in pieces 

 before they eat it. But they swallow the small mammifera 

 entire, the skin of which, rolled up, is rejected by the mouth. 

 It is only during summer, and the back season, that hawks are 

 seen dispersed in the fields, where they are frequently observed 

 alone, though the two sexes are usually at no great distance 

 from each other ; but the male and female, to avoid inter- 

 fering with each other, are generally perched on separate 



