ACCIPITRES. 
167 
i exceedingly docile Birds, and are those which are most generally employed in falconry, being taught 
I to pursue game, and to return when called. 
I The Peregrine Falcon (F. communis, Gm. ; {F. peregrinus, Lin.).— Apparently a cluster of indefinitely distin- 
guishable species, generally diffused in temperate climates, both northward and southward of the equator]. The 
species mostly trained for purposes of falconry. 
I [There are numerous others, of which the Jer Falcon, the Lanner,— which is intermediate to the Jer and 
I Peregrine Falcons,— the Hobby, the Red-legged, and the Merlin Falcons, inhabit northern Europe. The Red- 
legged Falcon is remarkable for sometimes breeding in society. F. concolor and some others have the 
j tarsi elongated: and in F. cesalon (the Merlin), and some allied species, the third quill-feather equals and 
! sometimes exceeds the second ; these last are also somewhat Hawk-like in the structure of their feet, and in 
I their manners. The division of Kestrel-falcons (termed Cerchneis by Boie) comprehends Birds of weaker 
^ structure, which have the sternum proportionally smaller ; in some the front of the tarsi is scutellated, as in 
the short-winged Hawks : the Kestrel-Falcons prey chiefly on field-mice, wliich they discern as they hover 
I stationary at a moderate altitude, with the head invariably turned towards the wind ; it is thus that they have 
obtained the names of Wind-hover and of Stand-gall or “stand-gale:” there are several species, two only of 
; which inhabit Europe — the common Kestrel {F. tinnunculus, Lin.), and the White-clawed Kestrel {F. cenchris, 
Frisch, and Naum ; F. tinnunculoides, Tern.). 
1 The division Hierofalco, Cuv., was instituted by mistake, for the reception of the Jer Falcon, under the suppo- 
jj sition that its beak had only a festoon, as in the short-winged Hawks ; the tooth of these Birds being sometimes 
j| cut away by the falconers. Gampsonyx, Vigors, however, fulfils nearly the conditions which were assigned to 
I Hierofalco ; the upper mandible being devoid even of emargination, and considerably resembling that of the 
ij Buzzards : the head is small, feet and tarsi robust, the latter feathered half-way from the joint ; wings the same 
I as in Falco : one species only is known, a bird of small size from Brazil (G. Swainsonii, Vig.). 
Other species (the lerax. Vigors), of very small size, have the second and third quill-feathers nearly equal ; the 
I upper mandible strongly and sharply bidentated, by the further developement of a sinuation visible in the rest. 
Two species are known, from Java and Manilla respectively, {F. ccerulescens, Edwards, and J. erythrogenys, 
,| Vig.) — They are scarcely larger than a Swallow, but yield to none in energy and spirit : their wings, however, are 
ij less firm than in other Falcons. 
I There are some bideutate species, which in other respects accord more nearly with the Goshawks ; 
I they are 
' The Harpagons {Harpagus, Vig. ; Bidens, Spix), — • 
Which present an acute bidentation of both mandibles, and have hitherto been found only in South 
j America. 
The best known species (F. bidentatus, Latham) is figured in the adult state by Spix as Bidens ritfiventer, and 
j in immature plumage as B. albiventer. 
j Others more nearly approximate the Perns, as 
The Falcoperns {Lepidogenys, Gould), — 
I The wings of which are remarkably long, having the third quill longest ; feet very short, and the talons 
j small and but slightly curved : the bidentation is less strongly marked than in the preceding. 
I F. lophotes, Tern., an elegantly-crested bird from India, and another from Australia — L. subcristatus, Gould, 
I pertain to this division. Nearly allied would seem to be the Aviceda, Swains., from Western Africa ; except that 
its armature is considerably more powerful.] The Baza of Hodgson is probably identical with Lepidogenys. 
\ The second section of the great genus Falco is that of the Birds of prey termed Ignoble, because they 
i cannot be so well employed in falconry ; a tribe much more numerous than that of the Nobles, and 
il which it is necessary to subdivide considerably. Their longest quill-feather is almost always the fourth, 
I the first being very short, which has the same effect as if the tip of the wing had been obliquely cut 
I off ; hence, cceteris paribus, result diminished powers of flight. Their beak, also, is not so well armed, 
I as there is no lateral tooth near its point, but only a slight festoon about the middle of its length. 
The Eagles {Aquila, Brisson),— - 
I Which form the first tribe, have a very strong beak, straight at its base, and curved only towards the 
' point. Among them we find the largest species of the genus, and the most powerful of all the 
I Birds of prey. 
The Eagles, properly so called {Aquila, Cuv.) — 
Have the tarsi feathered down to the base of the toes : they inhabit mountains, and pursue Birds and 
Quadrupeds ; their wings are as long as the tail, their flight both elevated and rapid, and their courage 
superior to that of most other Birds. 
