116 



SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 

 FALCO VELOX. 

 [Plate XLV.— Fig. 1.] 



THIS is a bold and daring species, hitherto unknown to na- 

 turalists. The only Hawk we have which approaches near it in 

 color is the Pigeon Hawk, figured in the second volume of this 

 work, plate 15. But there are such striking differences in the pre- 

 sent, not only in color, but in other respects, as to point out de- 

 cisively its claims to rank as a distinct species. Its long and slen- 

 der legs and toes ; its red fiery eye, feathered to the eye-lids ; its 

 triangular grooved nostril, and length of tail, are all different from 

 the Pigeon Hawk, whose legs are short, its eyes dark hazel, sur- 

 rounded with a broad bare yellow skin, and its nostrils small and 

 circular, centered with a slender point that rises in it like the 

 pistil of a flower. There is no Hawk mentioned by Mr. Pennant 

 either as inhabiting Europe or America, agreeing with this. I 

 may therefore with confidence pronounce it a nondescript; and 

 have chosen a very singular peculiarity which it possesses for its 

 specific appellation. 



This Hawk was shot on the banks of the Schuylkill, near Mr. 

 Bartram^s. Its singularity of flight surprised me long before I 

 succeeded in procuring it. It seemed to throw itself from one 

 quarter of the heavens to the other, with prodigious velocity, in- 

 clining to the earth, sw^ept suddenly down into a thicket, and in- 

 stantly re-appeared with a small bird in its talons. This feat I 

 saw it twice perform, so that it was not merely an accidental ma- 

 noeuvre. The rapidity and seeming violence of these zig-zag 

 excursions were really remarkable, and appeared to me to be for 



