BLACK-CIIINNED GOSHAWK. llj 
the impression that it is closely allied to those more 
slender species which are represented by our own 
sparrow-hawk, and those which we have here de- 
scribed. From all these, however, the bird before 
us differs, in having the second quill so very long 
that it is only half an inch shorter than the third, this 
latter and the fourth being the longest of all. This 
prolongation of the wing clearly indicates a much 
more rapid and powerful flight than is enjoyed by 
our species, whose third quill-feather has the pro- 
portions of the second in this species, and where the 
fourth is even shorter than the fifth. In the feet, 
the two birds essentially differ. Although so differ- 
ent in size, the tarsus of our British hawk is just 
as long as that we are now describing, and yet the 
tarsus of this is nearly three times as thick as 
that of the sparrow-hawk ; this great accession of 
strength and of muscular power in the foot plainly 
shews that the Senegal bird feeds upon much 
larger and more noble game than our English one : 
while the middle claw, instead of being very long, 
is of the same length as in the true Falcons. The 
surface of the feet, or rather the scales by which 
they are covered, are very different. In this the 
series placed in front of the tarsus are by no means 
smooth, since their sutures are distinct and promi- 
nent ; they are transverse, and composed of about 
nine pieces, while those on the sides and back are 
small, numerous, and hexagonal : not, like the 
sparrow-hawk, in smooth and nearly entire pieces. 
We will now compare our bird with the white 
