NORWEGIAN JER-FALCON. 23 
their readers a brief statement of the case as it now 
stands, and the reasons which have induced me to in- 
clude the bird at the head of this description, among 
those which are observed in Europe; and as therefore 
distinct from the other two species which have occurred 
in England. Nay, I believe, strictly speaking, the 
Jer-Falcon now under discussion has been killed in 
England; but as the authors of our British works 
have only described and figured one bird under the 
general name of F. Islandicus, I have thought it better 
to give a figure of the F. Gyr-falco of Schlegel, and to 
state the reasons of that eminent naturalist for claiming 
specific distinction for this bird. 
When Gould published his work on the “Birds of 
Kurope,” in 1837, he alluded to the statements made 
by Falconers who bring over trained Falcons for sale 
to this country, that there was a decided difference 
between the Norwegian and Iceland birds, and he asks 
the question—are there two’ species? 'Temminck had 
previously described one species only, F. Islandicus, and 
had given Falco Islandicus Candicans of Latham, 
Gmelin, and Meyer, as the female; while he confounded 
Falco Sacer, the bird next to be described, with the 
Faleo Gyr-falco of authors, which he considered the 
young of F. Islandicus. 
A year after Mr. Gould’s work appeared, Mr. Han- 
cock sent a memoir to the “Annals and Magazine of 
Natural History,” im which he described two Jer- 
Falcons as existing among the English specimens, 
under the name of F. Islandicus; and to these birds 
he gave the names of Falco G'reenlandicus and Falco 
Islandicus ; the former being the light-coloured species, 
or, as Mr. H. subsequently described it—‘having white 
feathers with dark markings’”—the latter the darker 
