54 
FALCONINtE. accipiter. 
rate size, roundisli ; neck sliort or of moderate length ; ' 
body very slender behind. Feet of moderate length ; tarsi 
moderate, or rather long, slender, feathered for at least a ' 
third, broadly scutellate before and behind; toes slender, ; 
scutellate above, with a large fleshy knob beneath on the 
last joint of each, and one at the next joint of the outer two ; | 
the first and second nearly equal ; the third much longer, and 
connected with the fourth by a basal web ; claws long, well | 
curved, compressed, tapering to a fine point. Plumage com- 
pact above, blended beneath ; wings of moderate length, very j 
broad, much rounded, the fourth and fifth quills longest ; tail 
long, even or rounded, much exceeding the wings. | 
The Hawks are distinguished by their elegant, generally I 
slender form, the prominent lobe on the edges of the upper i 
mandible, their comparatively short rounded wings, length- | 
ehed tail, and slender tarsi and toes. They fly low when ! 
searching for food, dart upon their prey on the ground, or - 
in the air, or perched on trees or bushes. They nestle in 
trees, or on rocks, sometimes appropriate the nest of another 
bird, and lay from three to five large, roundish, spotted eggs. 
16 . Accipiter Palumbarius. Goshawk. 
Male about twenty inches long, with the upper parts dark 
bluish-grey, the crown of the head and a broad band on 
its sides black, the lower white, transversely barred with 
blackish-grey, and marked with longitudinal shaft-lines. 
Female about twenty-five inches long, with the colouring 
similar, but the upper parts greyish-brown. Young brown 
above, the feathers edged wdth reddish- white, the head brown, 
the nape yellowish-white, streaked with dark brown ; the 
lower parts yellowish-white, with longitudinal oblong dusky 
spots. 
Male, 20, 43, 13, Ij, 3, l|f, 1. Female, 26, 45. 
Extremely rare in Britain, Its habits have not been accu- 
rately observed with us. According to M. Temniinck, it is 
essentially a northern bird, which migrates southward in 
winter, few remaining to breed in the central parts of Europe. 
It was much esteemed when the art of falconry was practised, 
and was flown at hares and the larger birds. 
Falco palumbarius, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 130. — Falco palum- 
barius, Temm. Man, d’Ornith. i. 55; iii. 27. — Accipiter 
palumbarius, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds, iii. 350. 
