LINNEAN GENUS FALCQ. 61S 



mclined to doubt, never supposed the possibility 

 of their belonging to the same species. In his 

 Supplement to the Ornithological Dictionary, he 

 mentions the Faico fuhiis, as a species which had 

 been observed by himself in a wild state in the 

 Highlands of Scotland ; but, under the title of 

 Golden Eagle, he states his opinion of the extreme 

 rarity of Falco chrysaetos, and adds, that during 

 the long period of his own ornithological studies, 

 no individual of that species had ever fallen under 

 his examination, or been observed by him in any 

 British collection, except that of Sir Ashton 

 Lever, now dispersed. From this circumstance, 

 among others, I incline to the opinion of their be- 

 ing distinct ; because, had they been actually the 

 same, the one must necessarily have been as com- 

 mon as the other, and in that case, would not have 

 escaped the notice of so unremitting an observer. 



Besides, if the birds in question were specifical- 

 ly the same, and supposing the white band to be 

 merely the colour of immaturity, v^^ould not the 

 individuals in the more advanced state of plumage 

 approximate more nearly to the adult bird, so that, 

 by degrees, all distinctions must be effaced, and 

 they could not be recognised but as one and the 

 same ? whereas, on the contrary, I have found 

 that the more perfect the plumage of the bird 

 becomes, the more apparent are those characters 

 which have hitherto entitled it to rank as a dis- 

 tinct species, and that it is chiefly between the 



