BIRDS OF PREY. GOSHAWKS. 
305 
already enumerated, little more requires to be stated : 
it is clearly analogous to tbat of Falco^ and the birds 
belonging to it are as readily distinguished from the 
subgenus Aster by their long, smooth, and very slender 
legs. This latter is composed of the goshawks, of which 
only one species, the Falco palumburius 98.), is a 
native of Europe, although several others are found 
both in the New and' the Old World. The European 
goshawk, from its size and strength, might be very 
easily mistaken, by an ordinary observer, for an eagle ; 
and the same may be said of the white goshawk of 
Australia. The form of these birds, in comparison 
with the sparrowhawks, is thick and somewhat heavy ; 
and, although there is little or no dilFerence between 
their bills, except in size, the slender and delicate tarsi 
of Accipiter offers a remarkable contrast to the thick, 
powerful, and eagle-like structure which belongs to the 
feet of the goshawks. The scales of the tarsi, in both, 
are smooth ; but their divisions in Aecipiter can scarcely 
be perceived, while in Aster the front and back of the 
leg are protected by many broad but short plates, dis- 
posed transversely ; and in the two species above named 
the greater part of the upper half of the tarsi is clothed 
in front with feathers. Several modifications of this 
form, like that of Aster monogrammicus* , &c., have come 
before us ; but they do not appear sufficiently marked 
to favour the idea of viewing them as distinct types. 
* Birds of Western Africa, plate 4. 
X 
