( so ) 



ORD. I. GEN. I. FALCON. 



SP. XX. SPARROW HAWK. 



PI. 20. 



Falco Nifus. Lin. Syji. I. p. 130. 

 L'Epervier. Brif. Orn. I. p. 310. 



The bill of this bird is blue : cere and eyes yellow : the male is twelve inches 

 in length, in breadth two feet, in weight fix ounces. The colour of the plum- 

 age on the upper parts of the body is a rich dark brown, on the under parts 

 orange white, croffed with dark brown waves : tail long, the feathers very 

 broad and barred with dark brown, tip white : legs yellow. 



The female is much larger than the male, being fifteen inches long, two feet 

 four inches in breadth, and nine ounces in weight. This is a daring deftruc- 

 tive fpecies, feeding on partridges, young poultry, and pigeons : if fharp fet 

 for food, it makes no fcruple to enter hen-roofts, or pigeon-houfes. It builds 

 its neft on the top of an oak tree, old ruin, or high rockj and lays four eggs, 

 for which fee PI. V. Fig. 3. 



