56 
FALCO SPARVERIUS. 
knees, the bare part one inch in length ; span of 
foot five inches, with a large protuberant sole; 
claws are large and black, hind clan' the largest- 
Whether the cere is yellow, or flesh coloured, we were 
uncertain, as the bird had been some time killed wbe** 
received ; supposed the former. 
The most striking characters of this species are th® 
broad patch of black dropping below the eye, and th® 
uncommonly large feet. It is stout, heavy, and tirnny 
put together. 
The bird from which the above description Wf’ 
taken, was shot in a cedar swamp in Cape May conntV' 
New Jersey. It was a female, and contained tb® 
remains of small birds, among which were discover^® 
the legs of the sanderling plover. 
8. FJT.CO SFARFEIilUS, LiNN.EU.S. 
AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. 
WILSON, PLATE XVI. FIG. I. FEMALE. * — EDINBURGH COLLE®^ 
MUSEUM. 
In no department of ornithology has there bee® 
greater confusion, or more mistakes made, than .amo®? 
this class of birds of prey. The great difference of sj!*® 
between the male and female, the progressive variati®® 
of plumage to which, for sever.ol years, thev are snbjee*J 
and the difficulty of procuring a sufficient number 
specimens for examination ; all these causes conspire 
lead the n.aturalist into almost unavoidable mistake®’ 
For these reasons, and in order, if possible, to ascert»>“ 
each species of this genus distinctly, I have determine®’ 
where any doubt or ambiguity prevails, to represe®*' 
* This species is allied to the fako tinnunculus, or kestrfl 
Europe. 
