tiNNEAN GENUS f ALCO. 



583 



cbunt of her mildness, and easiness to be reclaim- 

 ed. No hawk exceeds her in strength according 

 to her size, or is hardier to endure fatigue. She 

 is excellent to sport with at either field or brook." 



The next term which I have to notice, is the 

 word Haggard. This expression has not been so 

 generally applied as a specific name, but it has oc- 

 casioned some confusion. Thus, we find a bird 

 described sometimes as a variety, at other times as 

 a distinct species, under the titles Falco gibhosus^ 

 Le Faucon hagard, ou Bossu, and in English, un- 

 der the name of Haggard Falcon. It is now, 

 however, saM to be only the Common Falcon, ar- 

 rived at an age when the bird is fond of sitting 

 with its neck shortened, and the head sunk bc- 

 tw^een the shoulders, assuming a deformed appear- 

 ance. Thus, Latham, speaking of the Falco 

 gibbosus, says, " Hie jam ad senectutem pro- 

 vectus est ; turn collum contorquet, illudque inter 

 scapulas quasi abscondit, ita ut gibbum gestare 

 videatur ; unde gibbosi nomen." 



This explains very properly the application of 

 the Latin specific name, but does not apply to the 

 English term Haggard, which is a sporting ex- 

 pression, and does not seem to have been satisfac- 

 torily explained in any scientific work. In books 

 on falconry, I find that it has never been applied 

 to any particular species, whatever its external 

 appearance might be, but in the language of the 

 field denotes a hawk taken wild from the sky by 

 p p 2 



