KESTREL. 
141 
we, however, at present prefer retaining it as a 
part of Faleo, and a comparison between what 
are called the Kestrels, (F. tinnunculus, tin- 
nunculoides, rupicola, &e.) the Merlin, and the 
little American F. sparverius, will, we believe, 
lead to a similar conclusion. The bill is perfectly 
typical, and the wings, though proportionably 
shorter, are, in the comparative length of the 
quills, more so than in the Merlin ; the second 
quill is the longest, in the Merlin it is the third ; 
hut it is in the feet and tarsi we find the greatest 
variation. The legs are clothed with small rough 
scales, three large plates only covering the joint 
of the tarsus with the toes ; the feet are altogether 
shorter proportionally, particularly the outer 
toes, a form which we observe in the species of 
Raptores which feed more exclusively on reptiles 
or insects ; and this we have borne out by the 
habits of the birds we are describing. The 
Kestrels feed much less on birds than any of our 
small European Falcons. The chief food of the 
common bird is the small mammalia comprised 
in the genera, mus, sorex and arvicola, and for 
this purpose, we see a peculiar manner of 
hunting, and of motionless suspended flight, 
which has gained for it the common, but expres- 
sive appellation, of “ Windhover;’’ they hang, 
as it were, in the air, balancing themselves by 
the expanded tail, and an occasional rapid 
