Ihe Lincolnshire bird (which was sent to Mr. Leadbeater by Frank Sheffield, Esq., brother of Sir Robert 
Sheffield, Bart.) was the finest, largest, and heaviest example that ever came under my notice. It was a fully 
adult female, immensely fat, weighed over four pounds, and was so broad-shouldered and powerful-looking 
that it reminded me of a Chilian Eagle {Geranoaetus melanoleucus) rather than a Goshawk. 
The Goshawk does not appear to be common in any part of North Africa, from Morocco to the Nile ; 
and the Rev. H. B. Tristram says it cannot be regarded as a bird of Palestine southward of the wooded 
districts of Lebanon ; but Signor Fidas, a zealous Italian collector at Beyrout, showed him the skin of one 
he had purchased in the flesh in the market of that city (Ibis, 1865, p. 259). Lord Lilford states that it 
is not very common in the Ionian Islands ; he only met with two immature examples in Epirus, but saw at 
Santa Maura a fine pair that had been killed on that island a few weeks previously ; he was told that the 
species is common, and breeds in Albania proper, Montenegro, and Bosnia, in which last province it is 
trained for taking Hares ; his Lordship adds, “ The Goshawk seems to be an object of special aversion 
to Rooks, Magpies, Jays, &c., who will allow a Buzzard, Harrier, or Falcon to remain unmolested in 
their haunts, but immediately pursue this speeies with loud cries and every appearance of excessive hatred 
and defiance.” — ‘ Ibis,’ 1860, p. 9. Lord Lilford bas “ once or twice seen the Goshawk in Andalusia, and 
also in Catalonia. The Spaniards call the bird Azov" In Portugal, where it is said to be tolerably common, 
it is known as the Ago?'. 
The veteran Temminck informs us that it is very common in France, Germany, and Switzerland, hut is 
very rare in Holland ; while every traveller who has visited Sweden, Lapland, Bothnia, and Finmark speaks 
of it as a summer visitant, and as breeding in those countries as far north as the Scoteh fir extends. 
We have yet to speak of its occurrence in a more easterly direction ; India, China, and Amoorland claim 
for it a place in their avifaunas. “ The Goshawk,” says Mr. Jerdon, “ is found in the Himalayas, and, I 
think, also on the Neilgherries, though more rarely.” There, as in Europe and elsewhere, it ever affects the 
mountainous districts ; and, continues Mr. Jerdon, “ if it ever occurs in the plains it is only a straggler or 
bird of passage. The female is the most highly esteemed bird of prey in India, and a trained bird used to 
be sold for a large sum in former days. They are caught when young, and sold on the skirts of the 
N. W. Himalayas to falconers from different parts of India, for prices varying from 20 to 50 rupees for 
the female, and from iO to 20 or 30 for the male. The female is trained to strike the Houbara Bustard, 
Kites, and Neophrons, Ducks, and many other large water-birds, such as Cormorants, Herons, Ibises, &c. 
It is, however, chiefly trained to catch Hares. For this purpose she is booted, or furnished with leather 
leggings, to prevent her legs being injured by thorns, as the Hare generally drags the Hawk some yards 
after being struck. She strikes with one leg only, and stretches the other out behind to clutch grass, twigs, 
or anything on the ground, to put the drag, as it were, on the Hare. The male is trained to strike Par- 
tridges, Rock-pigeons, Crows, Teal, &c. The Goshawk flies direct at its prey, and gets its speed at once ; 
if it does not reach the quarry within a reasonable distance (say, from 100 to 200 yards) it generally gives up 
the chase, and either returns to the falconer’s fist or perches on some neighbouring tree or the ground.” 
The disposition, actions, and mode of flight, and the manner in which the Goshawk steals upon its prey, 
are both singular and interesting. It is never seen hovering, like the Kestril, and but seldom high 
in the air, like the Falcons; on the contrary, it sits motionless, for hours together, under the shadowy canopy 
of a leafy tree, mostly close to the bole, and not on the exposed branches — whence it scans the surrounding 
space, and, upon the appearance of a Hare, Partridge, or any quadruped or bird upon which it feeds, sneaks 
upon its prey in the most artful manner. Mr. Wolf tells me that he has known it, when pressed by hunger, 
dash out of its retreat and give chase to a Short-eared Owl. 
Mr. Hewitson states, on the authority of Mr. Hoy, that “ the Goshawk builds its own nest ; and, if undis- 
turbed in its possession, will frequently occupy it for several years, making the necessary repairs. It is 
placed oti some high tree, on the outskirts of the forest, and is rarely found in the interior of the woodland, 
except in those parts which are cleared and free from timber. The eggs are three or four in number, and 
are frequently hatched by the middle of May ; they are, I believe, for the most part, of a spotless bluish 
white, but are sometimes indistinctly marked with brown.” 
In no one member of the great family of Falcons does there occur a greater dissimilarity between the 
young bird of the year, with the lanceolate markings of its breast, and the fully adult, in which the same part 
is crossed by numerous fine bars. There is also as great a difference in the size of the sexes; but this character 
is less marked than in the memhers of the genus Acdpiter, from which that of Astur must be regarded as 
merely an offshoot. 
The Plate represents an adult female, about two-thirds of the natural size, with a reduced figure of a young 
bird in the distance. 
