LINl^EAjl GENUS FALCp. 



6Sl 



There is no subject in ornithology, so intricate 

 and confused as the natural history of the Falcon 

 tribe, and almost every endeavour to illustrate 

 this branch of the science by the accurate de- 

 scription of species, has unfortunately tended to 

 increase the darkness which surrounds it. 



Without attending to those changes which are 

 incidental to age or sex, to the climate of parti- 

 cular countries, or the season of the year, natu- 

 ralists have assumed, that such individuals as dif- 

 fered remarkably in the general colour and mark- 

 ings of their plumage, were specifically distinct, 

 and thus as many species have been created, as 

 there are variations in the transition from youth to 

 age. 



Another great source of error originates in the 

 misconstruction and improper application of the 

 technical language of Falconry, and in the inde- 

 finite nature of that language itself. 



Certain terms intended, in the first instance, mere- 

 ly to designate the degree of excellence to which 

 individuals of different species may have attained 

 in the sports of the field, have been applied by na- 

 turalists as the specific appellation of particular 

 kinds ; and being again introduced into the lan- 

 guage of falconry, with a signification altogether 



VOL. II. p p ^ 



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