SHARF-SHINNED HAWK. 



213 



joints ; edges of the inside of the shins, below the knee, pro- 

 jecting like the edge of a knife, hard and sharp, as if in- 

 tended to enable the bird to hold its prey with more security 

 between them ; eye, brilliant yellow, sunk below a projecting 

 cartilage. 



The male was nearly two inches shorter ; the upper parts, 

 dark brown ; the feathers skirted with pale reddish, the front 

 streaked with the same ; cere, greenish yellow ; lores, bluish ; 

 bill, black, as in the female; streak over the eye, lighter than 

 in the former ; chin, white ; breast the same, streaked 

 with brown ; bars on the tail, rather narrower, but in tint 

 and number the same ; belly and vent, white ; feet and shins, 

 exactly as in the female ; the toes have the same pendulous 

 lobes which mark those of the female, and of which the 

 representation in the plate will give a correct idea ; the wings 

 barred with black, very noticeable on the lower side. 



Since writing the above, I have shot another specimen of 

 this hawk, corresponding in almost every particular with the 

 male last mentioned, and which, on dissection, also proves 

 to be a male. This last had within the grasp of its sharp 

 talons a small lizard, just killed, on which he was about to 

 feed. How he contrived to get possession of it appeared to 

 me matter of surprise, as lightning itself seems scarcely more 

 fleet than this little reptile. So rapid are its motions, that, 

 in passing from one place to another, it vanishes, and actually 

 eludes the eye in running a distauce of twelve or fifteen feet. 

 It is frequently seen on fences that are covered with grey 

 moss and lichen, which in colour ft very much resembles ; it 

 seeks shelter in hollow trees, and also in the ground about 

 their decayed roots. They are most numerous in hilly parts 

 of the country, particularly on the declivities of the Blue 

 Mountain, among the crevices of rocks and stones. When 

 they are disposed to run, it is almost impossible to shoot them, 

 as they disappear at the first touch of the trigger. For the 

 satisfaction of the curious, I have introduced a full-sized figure 

 of this lizard, which is known in many parts of the country 

 by the name of the Swift. 



