6% FALCONID.E. 



yellow. The cere and orbits are yellow, the iris rich orange ; 

 the feet and legs are full yellow or gold colour, long and 

 slender, and the balls or soles of the feet, very prominent ; 

 the claws black ; the outer and middle toes are united by a 

 membrane. 



The very old female nearly resembles the male, but her 

 upper plumage is of a duller and more leaden tint, and her 

 under parts are not tinged with rufous. The young male has 

 no grey on the upper parts ; his feathers are dusky, bordered 

 with reddish brown ; the tail-feathers brown, crossed with 

 dark bars as in the adult. The young female much resem- 

 bles the young male, but her plumage is of duller colours ; 

 dusky above, bordered with greyish brown, beneath dusky 

 and white. The legs and cere of the young birds are green- 

 ish yellow ; the eyes yellow instead of orange. The eyes of 

 the Sparrow-Hawk have a peculiar restlessness, lustre, and 

 beauty above all other birds. 



Entire length of the male twelve inches ; length of the 

 wing, from carpus to tip, seven inches two lines. The tail 

 extends three inches beyond the tip of the wings. The tarsus 

 measures two inches and a quarter ; the middle toe and claw, 

 two inches ; the hinder, one inch ; the inner, one inch ; the 

 outer, one inch ten lines. The claw of the inner toe measures 

 six lines, of the hinder, five ; the middle and outer, three 

 lines. The beak measures six lines ; in the arc, eight lines. 

 The female is nearly one-fourth larger than the male, and 

 weighs six or seven ounces more. 



The Sparrow-Hawk has been separated from the genus 

 Astur, in which it was formerly placed, on account of its 

 long and slender legs, — an arrangement which we have adopt- 

 ed, although we think the difference hardly sufficient to con- 

 stitute a separate genus, consisting, as it does, merely in the 

 superior length and slenderness of the legs : in all other 

 respects the same generic characters apply to both. 



