2410 Birds. 



verified than myself) ; but I would draw Dr. Scott's attention to the fact that Mr. 

 Yarrell does not profess to give a detailed description of the plumage of the hobby in 

 all its stages : he merely describes the specimen figured at the head of his article, 

 — and the bird so figured is undoubtedly one of the second year. This is evident 

 from the lighter colour of the back of the head and of the moustache, the numerous 

 light marks on the back, the distinct markings of the lateral tail-feathers, and the 

 breadth of the longitudinal patches on the breast, belly and thighs. It may be re- 

 plied, that I have shown nothing more than that I have birds in my cabinet resem- 

 bling the one described by Dr. Scott, but that I have not proved it to be the Falco 

 subbuteo, — and that, on the contrary, the figure and description of Mr. Yarrell are 

 entirely the same as the coloured illustrations and descriptions of Lewin and Sir W. 

 Jardine. I must therefore trespass a little further, while I adduce my authorities. 

 M. Temminck, justly considered one of the first ornithologists of the day, states 

 ('Manuel d'Ornithologie ' ) that the old male hobby has the " croupion et cuisses d'un 

 roux rougeatre," and that in the female " le roux de croupion et des cuisses est moins 

 vif." His coloured figure of an adult hobby ('Atlas des Oiseaux d'Europe') is a most 

 faithful representation of nature. His description of the young birds is equally cor- 

 rect. Professor Mc'Gillivray, who goes into very minute details of plumage, says of 

 the hobby (' Descriptions of the Rapacious Birds of Great Britain') that "the tibial 

 feathers" are in the male "bright orange-red," and in the female " light yellowish 

 red : " of the young he gives the proper markings. Mr. Mudie, in describing the 

 hobby ('Feathered Tribes of the British Islands'), uses the words "buff orange" as 

 the colour for the thighs : he does not describe the young. I ought perhaps to apolo- 

 gize for taking up so much space with so trivial a matter ; but it is well known that 

 no order of birds differ so much in plumage amongst themselves, at various ages and 

 in various specimens, as the falcons ; and we also know that a very little difference is, 

 in the present day, considered sufficient ground for creating a new species. The 

 hobby (Falco subbuteo) may be distinguished in all stages from the red-legged hobby 

 (F. rufipes), by — among other differences — the colour of the claws, which in the former 

 are uniformly black, whilst in the latter they are invariably of a very light yellowish 

 brown. The tarsi in the latter bird are of a deep red ; in the former, of a strong yel- 

 low. In F. subbuteo the points of the wings stretch beyond the extremity of the tail ; 

 in F. rufipes they do not quite reach it. — W. F. W. Bird ; 5, Kings Row , Bedford 

 Row, March 1, 1849. 



Occurrence of the Merlin (Falco iEsalon) at Rye. — A mature female merlin was 

 brought me on the 6th instant, which was shot at the harbour on that day. The male 

 has, I believe, been once taken here lately, but is much rarer than the female. — J. B. 

 Ellman; Rye, February 19, 1849. 



Varieties of the Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter Nisus). — Two beautiful varieties of the 

 female sparrow hawk have lately come under my notice. The first was shot during 

 the present week, at Peasemarsh, and is the largest I ever saw : it measures in ex- 

 treme length 18£ inches — the usual length being 15 inches: it is a very dark bird, 

 and the head and back of the neck are speckled similarly to the immature honey 

 buzzard : this is in my possession. The other example was shot at Windmill Hill 

 (the residence of H. M. Curteis, Esq., M.P.), and is in the full plumage of a male: 

 a similar instance is recorded by my friend Mr. Turner (Zool. 1639). Both specimens 

 arc \crv old birds. — Id., March 17, 1849. 



Anecdote of a Sparrow Ifawk. — A sparrow hawk (a male of the second year) per- 



