34 SAKER FALCON. 
birds have been brought thence to Austria, taken out 
of their nests in the month of May, about sixty years 
ago, and sent to the principal falconers in Europe. 
Pallas, under the name of Lanner, speaks of two species, 
one stronger than the other, from the Ural Mountains; 
the weaker and smaller one more common from the ~ 
deserts of Grand Tartary. Pallas, whose remarks in 
natural history are very exact, says, (and all his obser- 
vations are evidently referable to the true Saker,) they 
build their nests on trees or even shrubs, found in the 
midst of the desert. ‘The young birds to the number 
of two or three, often leave the nest before they are 
full-grown, and follow their mother everywhere, scream- 
ing lustily. They are then easily caught by the 
inhabitants of the desert, and sold to the Kalmuc Tartars 
as hunting birds. They are used sometimes for taking 
the kite, but they are considered too small for this 
purpose. 
The following is M. Schlegel’s description of ‘the 
Saker Falcon, which from the rarity of the species, 
and the confusion of its diagnosis, we shall be excused 
for quoting at length from his work upon falconry. 
“The Sacer of the falconers is a bird of a figure 
rather less strong than the Lanner, and consequently it 
is intermediate in this respect between this species and 
the Gyr-Falcon. It is distinguished from these two 
Falcons when young by a different modification of the 
tints, and by the two intermediate quills of the tail not 
being generally ornamented with bright bands. In adult 
age it is different from all other Falcons. Its plumage, 
like that of the young birds, is of more agreeable tints, 
and has not transverse bands either on the upper part 
of the body or on the under side. The tarsi are fea- 
thered above half their length. The tail goes beyond 
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