LINNEAN GENUS FALCO. 591 



reaching to the end of the tail, have confounded ^- gentiiis, 

 the Common Falcon in a state of adolescence, and 

 that those who characterise it by the wings ex- 

 tending only to the middle of the tail, have de- 

 scribed the immature Goshawk. The name of 

 Falco gentilis, should therefore no longer be used 

 as a specific appellation. 



I have next to consider the Goshawk or Falco ^- paii^"** 



. . . barius. 



palumbarius of Linn^us. This species is very 

 widely distributed. They breed in Scotland and 

 the Orkney Isles, and have been observed in Spain, 

 France, Germany, Switzerland, and the North of 

 Italy, They are common in Denmark, Norway, 

 Russia, and Siberia, particularly about Lake 

 Baikal. Among the Uralian Mountains, they are 

 said to be white, mottled with brown and yellow, 

 and a somewhat similar variety is found in Chinese 

 Tartary. In Kamtsckatka, the most abundant va- 

 riety is nearly of an immaculate white ; and these 

 white birds, according to Pemnant, are the most 

 esteemed in falconry. From Chinese and Indian 

 paintings, we learn, that the Goshawk is known 

 in the warmest regions of Asia : and judging from 

 a drawing, which I had an opportunity of ex- 

 amining, the individuals found in India are darker 

 in their plumage than the common variety found 

 in Europe. They are generally diffused over the 

 Continent of North America, but whether they 

 have been observed in Africa, I do not know. 

 They abound in the Azores, and these islands, in 



