Hawks.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



271 



differ in flight and their mode of attacking their 

 prey from the falcons, they are equally daring and 

 impetuous, and one in particular, the goshawk, was 

 among the most valued of the falconer's birds ; it 

 was termed " falcon gentil," and was flown at phea- 

 sants, wild geese, and even hares. Instead of soar- 

 ing after the manner of the true falcons, the short- 

 winged hawks, as the falconer calls them, dart along 

 with arrow-like impetuosity in pursuit of their prey, 

 threading woods, glens, and ravines; they strike it 

 obliquely, overtaking it by their swiftness, and 

 clutching it in their talons, bear it of in triumph. 



1250. — The Laughixg Hawk 



(Dcedahon cachinnans). Head and Foot. In this 

 genus the beak is short, the tarsi moderate, and re- 

 ticulated anteriorly. This species, which is a na- 

 tive of South America, has obtained its specific 

 name from its peculiar cry. It tenants the neigh- 

 bourhood of lakes or sheets of water, and lives upon 

 reptiles and fish. Its general plumage is white ; 

 the backs and wings, and the space round the eyes 

 with a nuchal intervening band, being brown ; head 

 crested. It is the Nacagua of Azara. 



1251.— The Sparrow-Hawk 



(Accipiter fringillarius). Generic characters of 

 Accipiter : — beak short; nostril suboval ; tarsi 

 elongated, smooth, anteriorly scutellated. (Fig. 

 1252, Head and Foot of Sparrow-hawk.) 



The Sparrow-hawk is L'Epervier of the French ; 

 Falco palombino and Sparviere da fringuelli of the 

 Italians ; die Sperber of the Germans ; Sparihoek 

 of the 'Fauna Suecica ;' Falco Nisus of Linnseus ; 

 and Gwepia of the ancient British. 



This species is notorious for its destructiveness 

 and daring. It is spread throughout the whole of 

 Europe, and is common in the wooded parts of our 

 islands ; and is well known as one of the terrors of 

 the farm-yard. The female, which much exceeds 

 the male in size, is fatal to partridges and pigeons. 

 The sparrow-hawk flies low, skimming with great 

 rapidity, and pounces on its prey with unerring aim : 

 in the days of falconry it was accounted the best 

 bird for landrails. 



This hawk builds in trees and thorn bushes, 

 making a shallow flat nest of twigs : occasionally it 

 occupies the deserted nest of a crow, and in the 

 Orkneys it breeds on the rocks and sea-cliffs. The 

 eggs, five in number, are of a whitish tint, blotched 

 at the larger end with reddish brown. In a nest 

 examined by Mr. Selby were found a lapwing, two 

 blackbirds, a thrush, and two green linnets, recently 

 killed. No hawk is more pertinacious in the pur- 

 suit of its quarry than the sparrow-hawk ; it has 

 been known to follow its terrified prey through 

 open windows, into rooms, barns, and churches, un- 

 deterred by the presence of man. The male mea- 

 sures about twelve inches in length. The upper 

 parts are of a dark bluish ash-colour ; the cheeks, 

 throat, and chest rufous, which colour breaks into 

 obscure bars as it proceeds to the under surface; 

 beak blue-black, cere greenish yellow, tarsi yellow, 

 and tail greyish brown, with three transverse dusky 

 bands. The female is fifteen inches in length ; the 

 upper surface is of a browner tinge than in the 

 males, and the throat and under parts are greyish 

 white, the former having small longitudinal dashes, 

 the latter regular transverse bars of reddish brown. 

 The young differ very considerably in having the 

 general plumage brown, the feathers at. the back of 

 the neck and the scapularies being blotched with 

 white, and the under parts yellowish white, with 

 irregular longitudinal dashes of brown. The nest- 

 lings are at first covered with snow-white down. 



1253. — The Chanting Hawk 

 {Accipiter musicus) ; Falco musicus, Daudin. It is 

 somewhat strange to find a song-bird among the 

 feathered tyrants of the air, whose cries are in 

 general wild, shrill, and discordant. The present 

 species, however, is an exception, and stands pre- 

 eminent and alone, the minstrel of its race. It is, 

 as Cuvier says, " the only known bird of prey which 

 sings agreeably." In size it equals a goshawk ; its 

 plumage is grey above, white barred with brown 

 on the lower part of the back and on the under 

 parts of the body. It is a native of Africa, and 

 preys upon large birds, hares, and other animals ; it 

 builds in trees. According to Le Vaillant, it "utters 

 its strain every morning and evening, and not un- 

 commonly continues it the whole night ; each strain 

 is continued in a loud tone for more than a minute, 

 and after a pause it begins anew. While it is sing- 

 ing, it is so regardless of its safety that, any one 

 may approach very near it; but at other times it is 

 suspicious, and takes to flight on the slightest 

 alarm." (' Oiseaux d'Afrique,' i. 120.) 



1254. — The Goshawk 



(Astur palumbarius). The genus Astur differs from 

 Accipiter in the proportionate shortness of the tarsi. 



This beautiful and high-spirited hawk is the 

 Autour and Atom- of the French ; Astore (Zinan) 

 and Girifalco (Bonaparte) ; Sparviere da columbe 

 and Sparviere Terzuolo of the Italians; Grosser 

 gepfeilter Falck and Hunerhabicht of the Germans ; 

 Hebog Marthin of the ancient British. 



The Goshawk is rare in the British Islands, but is 

 more abundant in the forest districts of the Conti- 

 nent, inhabiting Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and 

 Switzerland, France, and Germany. It extends also 

 into Asia. 



Mr. Yarrell says, "The few that are used for 

 hawking are obtained from the Continent. Colonel 

 Thornton, who kept them constantly in Yorkshire, 

 procured some of his specimens from Scotland. Dr. 

 Moore, in his catalogue of the birds of Devonshire, 

 says that it is found occasionally in Dartmoor, but 

 I can find no record of its appearance farther west 

 in England, nor any notice of it in Ireland. A fine 

 adult male was trapped by a gamekeeper in Suffolk, 

 in March, 1843; and Mr. Dsubleday, of Epping, 

 has sent me word that he received a young bird 

 from Norfolk in the spring of the -same year. Mr. 

 Selby mentions that, he had never seen a recent 

 specimen south of the Tweed, but. states that it i3 

 known to breed in the forest of Rothiemurcus, and 

 on the wooded banks of the Dee. Mr. Low says 

 that this species is pretty frequent in Orkney ; but 

 as he speaks of it in connexion with sea-beaten 

 rocks without shelter or woods, is there not reason to 

 suspect that Mr. Low was mistaken, and that the 

 birds he saw were peregrine falcons ? — the more so as 

 several recent visitors to these northern islands have 

 observed peregrines, but no goshawks." (' British 

 Birds.') Prince Bonaparte has noted the goshawk 

 as not common in the neighbourhood of Rome. 



The goshawk frequents the deep solitudes of 

 forests, preying upon hares, squirrels, and the larger 

 kinds of birds. It makes its nest in lofty trees, pre- 

 ferring, it is said, the fir, laying three bluish white 

 eggs marked with reddish brown. The flight of 

 this hawk is low and rapid, and it strikes its prey as 

 it skims along, with terrible force ; but should the 

 quarry take to covert and there conceal itself, it 

 ceases pursuit, and waits in patience on some perch 

 commanding a view of the spot, till the game takes 

 wing. In this way it will remain hour after hour 

 on the watch : and an instance is on record of a 

 trained goshawk which drove a pheasant to cover 

 one evening, remaining stationary till ten the next 

 morning, when, on the falconers finding her and 

 taking her away, the poor pheasant, which all that 

 time had not dared to stir, but had remained fixed 

 to the place under the influence of terror, at once 

 took wing and flew off. 



A full-grown female goshawk can secure a hare 

 with ease. With regard to using these birds, the 

 late Mr. Hoy, who was experienced in their train- 

 ing, informed Mr. Bartlett that "their habits and 

 mode of flight were much better suited to an en- 

 closed district than those of the peregrine falcon. 

 When used or taken into the field, the wing of a 

 bird or the thin end of an ox-tail is generally held 

 in the hand to engage their attention, which they 

 are constantly biting and tearing without being able 

 to satisfy their appetites, as that would render them 

 unfit for work. They do not require to be hooded, 

 but have bells attached to the legs for the purpose 

 of giving notice of their situation when they alight 

 (which would otherwise be difficult to ascertain), 

 and a leathern strap by which they are held ; it is 

 also necessary to have spaniels to hunt up the birds, 

 upon the appearance of which the hawk flies from 

 the hand with incredible swiftness direct at the 

 game, generally taking it at the first attempt; but 

 should the hawk fail, it will perch on some elevated 

 situation, and remain until the game is again started, ' 

 and is rarely known to miss a second time. When 

 the hawk has captured the game, he is rewarded 

 with a small piece of meat or a pigeon's head to 

 induce him to give up his prey. If the hawk be 

 allowed to range at pleasure, by whistling it will 

 return with a swiftness truly astonishing, and finding 

 it cannot stop suddenly to settle without striking you 

 with great force, it will glide past, form a circle 

 round you, and alight with the greatest ease and 

 the most gentle manner upon the hand." (' Mag. 

 Nat. Hist.' 1839, p. 603.) These hawks, be it ob- 

 served, never ascend in gyrations and make the 

 swoop for which the peregrine falcon is so cele- 

 brated. The goshawk is distinguished both for 

 beauty of colour and elegance of contour. 



The female measures about twenty-four inches in 

 length, the male nineteen or twenty. The beak is 

 bluish black, the cere wax yellow, the irides bright 

 yellow ; the whole of the upper surface and tail- 

 feathers dark greyish brown: in the females the 

 colour inclines to clove brown, the upper surface of 

 the tail-feathers barred with darker brown ; the 

 nape of the neck, throat, breast, belly, and thighs, 

 nearly white, with spots, transverse bars, and un- 

 dulating lines of dull black; under tail-coverts 

 white ; lore, cheeks, and ear-coverts, greyish brown, 



forming an elongated dark patch on the side of the 

 head ; the legs and toes yellow ; the claws black. 



North America produces a closely allied species, 

 distinguished by a darker colour on the head, and a 

 greater multitude of zigzag lines and dashes on the 

 under parts. It was met with by Dr. Richardson in 

 the Hudson's Bay territories, and is figured in his 

 ' Fauna Boreali-Americana.' 



1255.— The Bidentate Harpagus 

 (Harpagus bidcntatus). Head and Foot. This bird, 

 representing the genus Harpagus, is in all essentials 

 a hawk, but with a double tooth on each side of the 

 beak as in the genus Terax. It may be regarded 

 as a link between the hawks and the falcons. It is 

 a native of Brazil and Guiana, but of its habits we 

 have no details ; length about thirteen inches. 

 Upper surface slate-colour : throat white ; under 

 parts red, undulated with yellowish: lower tail- 

 coverts white ; tail brownish, barred with dirty 

 white. 



Hawks and falcons often attack each other, and 

 sometimes two of the same species fight. Audu- 

 bon gives an animated account of the conflict which 

 he witnessed between two red-tailed hawks of Ame- 

 rica respecting a hare which one had killed. Fig. 

 1256 illustrates the mode of their aerial contests. 



KITES. 

 Beak moderate, compressed, rather hooked from 

 the base ; tail forked ; wings long and ample ; tarsi 

 short. 



The birds of this section are remarkable for the 

 ease, grace, and buoyancy of their flight ; they 

 sweep through the air in wide circles, sailing on 

 outspread wings, and often mount to such a height 

 as to become nearly invisible. Their vast wings 

 and broad-forked tail give them great advantage. 

 Unlike the falcons, however, they do not make an 

 impetuous swoop upon their victim, but skim it 

 from the surface of the earth, or even water, and 

 bear it away in their talons. Moles, reptiles, rats, 

 mice, and young poultry are their habitual prey, 

 but they do not refuse carrion ; they have not the 

 daring of the hawks and falcons. 



1257.— The Kite, or Glead 



(Milvus let inns). Milan Royal of the French, from 

 Belon to Buffon ; Pojana, Milvio, Nicchio, and 

 Nibbio of the Italians ; Bother Milan of the Ger- 

 mans; Glenta of Brunnich ; Glada of the 'Fauna 

 Suecica;' Kite, Fork-tailed Kite, Glead or Glede 

 (Pennant says from the Saxon ' Glida') of the Eng- 

 lish ; Barcud of the ancient British. In some of the 

 counties of England it is called the Puttock, a name 

 also sometimes bestowed provincially upon the 

 common buzzard. InEssexitis called the Crotched- 

 tailed Puddock. 



The Kite is distributed over the greatest part of 

 Europe and Asia, and the northern districts of 

 Africa. In our islands it appeal's to be less common 

 than formerly : in Ireland it is not known. For- 

 merly it was very abundant in the southern coun- 

 ties of England, and Clusius states that when he 

 was in London an amazing number of kites flocked 

 there for the offal thrown into the streets ; they 

 were so tame that they took their prey in the midst 

 of crowds, and it was forbidden to kill them. 



The kite, says Mr. Selby, " is proverbial for the 

 ease and gracefulness of its flight, which consists of 

 large sweeping circles performed with a motionless 

 wing, or at least with a slight and almost imper- 

 ceptible stroke of its pinions, and at very distant in- 

 tervals. In this manner, and directing its course 

 by the aid of the tail, which acts as a rudder, its 

 slightest motion producing an effect, it frequently 

 soars to such a height as to become almost invisible 

 to the human eye." Its appearance, as it wheels 

 over the farm-yard with eyes intent upon the broods 

 of chickens and ducklings, is by no means hailed 

 with pleasure, either by the feathered dependants 

 of the farm or the good man who owns them. Th 

 poultry set up loud cries of execration, the hens 

 call their broods beneath their wings, and chanti- 

 cleer prepares for battle ; the very dogs are roused, 

 and the men run for their guns. Finding prepara- 

 tions made to receive him, the marauder generally 

 makes off; but if he has swept away a chicken be- 

 fore the alarm is given, he is almost sure of repeat- 

 ing his visit, and is oftentimes so successful as to 

 destroy a whole brood. Leverets, rabbits, young 

 game, and small mammalia are also the prey of this 

 species ; it has been known to skim off dead fish 

 and other floating animal substances from the sur- 

 face of the water with the greatest address. The 

 kite builds its nest in the forked branch of some 

 tall forest-tree, and constructs it of sticks and twigs, 

 lining it with wool, hair, and other soft materials! 

 The eggs are three in number, rather larger thari 

 those of a hen ; they are of a dirty white, with 

 reddish brown spots at the large end. The female 

 defends her nest vigorously. 



The kite (male) is about twenty-six inches in 



