68 FALCON. 



ends of tlie quills deep brown, base white ; lower half of the tail 

 white, the rest brown; tip dirty white;* legs feathered as low as the 

 feet, which are yellow. 



Inhabits Denmark, but has now and then been met with in 

 this kingdom, four instances of which have occurred in my memory — 

 one shot near London, twice in Suffolk, and again in Kent, picked 

 up dead on the coast in 1792 ; said to lay four eggs, marked with 

 reddish spots ; It is now and then seen in Russia, and more fi-equently 

 in the east part of Siberia, where it spreads very far to the north, 

 and comes southward in winter; is also found in North America, 

 in low swamps and meadows, feeding on mice, frogs, and ducks — 

 common in winter in the lower part of Maryland, New Jersey, and 

 along Connecticut River. 



A.— Falco fuscus, Fn. groenl. p.^6. 34. b. Daud.'n. 107. 



Grey Falcon, C'rantz. i. 78. Egede. 62. 



Greenland Falcon, Gen. Syn. Sup. p. 36. Arct. Zool. ii. 220. E. 



This variety is smaller, being no more than 22 in. in length — ■ 

 and differs chiefly in the tail, the ground of which is cream-coloured 

 white ; near the tip a bar of brown, above an inch in breadth ; above 

 that a second, but half an inch broad ; and above these each feather 

 has a spot upon it in the middle, mimicking when spread, a third 

 bar ; besides which, the two outer feathers on each side have a few 

 irregular spots of brown, almost the whole of their length, on the 

 outer webs. 



Tlie bird described by Fabricius is said to be not uncommon in 

 Greenland, and preys on the Little Awk, Ptarmigan, Snowflake, and 

 other birds — is seen in combat with the Raven, but rarely proves 

 victorious, for the latter bird, turning on its back and screaming 



* Tail coverts spotted with chocolate in the female. 



