176 
NATURAL HISTORY 
brown; the breast and belly are marked with lines, point- 
ed downwards; the spots on the back and wings are 
larger; the feathers on the thighs are very long, and of a 
pure white; those of the tail are barred: the legs are of a 
pale blue, and feathered below the knee. This bird is 
a native of the cold and dreary climates of the north, 
and is found in Russia, Norway, and Iceland: it is never 
seen in warm, and seldom in temperate climates: it is 
found but rarely, in Scotland and the Orkneys. Next 
to the eagle, it is found to be the most formidable, the 
most active, and the most intrepid of all voracious birds, 
and is the dearest, and most esteemed for falconry. It 
is transported from Iceland and Russia into France, 
Italy, and even into Persia and Turkey; nor does the 
heat of these climates appear to diminish its strength, or 
blunt its vivacity. It boldly attacks the largest of the 
feathered race; the stork, the heron, and the crane, are 
easy victims: it kills hares by darting directly upon them. 
The female, as in all other birds of prey, is much larger 
and stronger than the male, which is used in falconry to 
catch the kite, the heron, and the crow. 
There is another of this tribe, called the peregrine or 
passenger falcon, which is rarely met with in Britain, and 
consequently is but little known there: it is about the 
size of the former; its bill is blue, black at the point; 
ceres and irides yellow; the upper parts of the body are 
elegantly marked with bars of blue and black; the breast 
Is of a yellowish white, marked with a few small dusky 
lines; the belly, thighs, and vent are of a greyish white, 
crossed with dusky bands; the quills are dusky, spotted 
with white; the tail is finely barred with blue and blacks 
the legs are yellow; the claw r s black. 
Goshawk. (JPalumbarim . Ray. PI. 26.) This bird 
Is somewhat longer than the buzzard, but slenderer and 
more beautiful; its length is one foot ten inches: its bill 
Is blue, tipped with black; cere green; eyes yellow; over 
each eye there is a whitish line: the head and all the up- 
per parts of the body are of a deep brown colour; each 
side of the neck is irregularly marked with white; the 
breast and belly are white, with a number of wavy lines 
