SII ARP-SniNNED HAWK. 
65 
hairs ; crown and -whole upper parts very dark brown, every feather 
narrowly skirted Avith a bright rust color ; over the eye a stripe of yel- 
lowish white, streaked with deep brown ; primaries spotted on their inner 
vanes with black ; secondaries crossed on both vanes Avith three 
bars of dusky, below the coverts ; inner veins of both primaries and 
secondaries brownish Avhite ; all the scapulars marked with large round 
spots of white, not seen unless the plumage be parted with the hand ; 
tail long, nearly even, crossed with four bars of black, and as many 
of brown ash, and tipped with white ; throat and whole lower parts 
pale yellowish white ; the former marked with fine long pointed spots 
of dark brown, the latter with large oblong spots of reddish brown ; 
femorals thickly marked with spade-formed spots, on the pale rufous 
fcround ; less Ions and feathered a little below the knee, of a greenish 
yelloAV color, most yellow at the joints ; edges of the inside of the 
shins below the knee, projecting like the edge of a knife, hard and 
sharp, as if intended to enable the bird to hold its prey with more 
security between them ; eye, sunk below a projecting cartilage, iris 
bright yellow. 
The male was nearly two inches shorter ; the upper parts dark brown ; 
the feathers skirted with pale reddish, the front also streaked with the 
same ; cere greenish yellow ; lores bluish ; bill black, as in the female ; 
streak over the eye lighter than in the former ; chin white ; breast the 
same, streaked with brown ; bars on the tail rather narrower, but in 
tint and number the same ; belly and vent white ; feet and shins exactly 
as in the female ; the toes have the same pendulous lobes, which mark 
those of the female, and of which the representation in the plate will 
give a correct idea ; the Avings barred Avith black, very noticeable on the 
lower side. 
Since AA'riting the above, I have shot another specimen of this Hawk, 
corresponding in almost every particular Avith the male last mentioned ; 
and Avhich, on dissection, also proves to be a male. This last had 
within the grasp of his sharp talons a small lizard, just killed, on which 
he was about to feed. Hoay he contrived to get possession of it appeared 
to me matter of surprise, as lightning itself seems scarcely more fleet 
than this little reptile. So rapid are its motions, that, in passing from 
one place to another, it vanishes, and actually eludes the eye in running 
a distance of twelve or fifteen feet. It is frequently seen on fences that 
are covered with gray moss and lichen, which in color it very much 
resembles ; it seeks shelter in holloAv trees, and ailso in the ground about 
their decayed roots. They are most numerous in hilly parts of the 
country, particularly on the declivities of the Blue Mountain, among 
the crevices of rocks and stones. When they are disposed to run, 
it is almost impossible to shoot them, as they disappear at the first 
touch of the trigger. For the satisfaction of the curious, I have intro- 
VoL. I.— 5 
