ZOOLOGY. 301 
most numerous. They are everywhere, however, alike in habits, and the 
unrelenting destroyers of everything that has life. 
Notwithstanding the nobility of character usually attributed to this family, 
there is little that is noble or magnanimous about ther, except whatever 
of such may be attributed to their usually graceful forms, instinctive cunning, 
and soaring flight; on the contrary, they are in habits the veriest robbers 
and most pitiful thieves of the feathered tribes, and the writer begs leave to 
add, that there is more decent respectability and true nobility in one honest 
gander, plebeian though he may be, than in all the noble falcons and imperial 
eagles that ever lived. We are sorry to differ so materially from the 
generality of naturalists, but this is our opinion, in which we only ac- 
quiesce in the conclusion of the great Dr. Franklin, who thought the bald 
eagle had scarcely a sufficiently good character to entitle him to the distinc- 
tion of representing the American republic, and hinted that the turkey would 
have done better. We will not, however, at present venture quite so far as to 
insist upon the latter. 
Sub-fam. 1. Falconine or true Falcons. Bill short, very strong and 
sharp; upper mandible with a well defined tooth, sometimes two, and also 
more or less festooned; under mandible truncated or emarginated at the 
end. Feet strong, middle toe long, claws strong and acute. Wings 
usually lengthened and formed for rapid flight. Size moderate or small; 
never large. 
In this sub-family we find the most complete development of characters 
indicating and in accordance with habits of rapine and violence. The 
boldest and most daring of birds of prey, their whole structure fits them for 
carrying on a life of warfare; their great muscular development, their long 
wings and powerful claws, enable them to pursue their prey with incredible 
swiftness and seize it with unerring and deadly grasp. The restricted 
genus Falco contains the species most noted in these respects, among which 
are some of the fastest flyers of all birds. Several of these were formerly 
highly valued when trained for falconry, especially the Falco peregrinus, 
Linn., or wandering falcon (pl. 104, fig. 5), which is an European species, 
but also found sparingly along the sea-coasts of the United States. It is 
known in New Jersey by the name of the duck hawk, and also as the 
bullet hawk, and preys almost exclusively upon ducks, which it overtakes 
and strikes upon the wing. ‘The latter name (bullet hawk) appears to have 
been given from a supposition which is prevalent, that it actually strikes the 
duck with its breast and knocks it down by mere momentum. An inspection 
of its ferocious-looking beak and claws will, however, justify quite a different 
conclusion. 
Another of the larger falcons is the Jer Falcon (F“ islandicus), which is a 
native of the northern regions of both the Old and New Worlds, though most 
abundant in the north of Europe, braving the coldest climates, and, in fact, 
rarely making its appearance in temperate latitudes. It is of a beautiful 
white color striped with black, which with its courage seems to have made it 
a great favorite with faleoners, and its use appears to have been almost 
monopolized by persons of noble blood. 
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