102 
ROUGH-LEGGED FAI.CON. 
New Jersey; are frequent along the Connecticut river; and, ac- 
cording to Pennant, inhabit England, Norway and Lapmark. 
Their flight is slow and heavy. They are often seen coursing 
over the surface of the meadows, long after sunset, many times 
in pairs. They generally roost on the tall, detached trees, that 
rise from these low grounds; and take their stations, at day- 
break, near a ditch, bank, or hay-stack, for hours together, 
watching, with patient vigilance, for the first unlucky frog, 
mouse or lizard, to make its appearance. The instant one of 
these is descried, the Hawk, sliding into the air, and taking a 
circuitous course along the surface, sweeps over the spot, and 
in an instant has his prey grappled and sprawling in the air. 
The Rough-legged Hawk measures twenty-two inches in 
length, and four feet two inches in extent; cere, sides of the 
mouth, and feet, rich yellow; legs feathered to the toes with 
brownish yellow plumage, streaked with brown, femorals the 
same; toes comparatively short, claws and bill blue black; iris 
of the eye bright amber; upper part of the head pale ochre, 
streaked with brown; back and wings chocolate, each feather 
edged with bright ferruginous; first four primaries nearly black 
about the tips, edged externally with silvery in some lights; 
rest of the quills dark chocolate; lower side, and interior vanes, 
white; tail-coverts white; tail rounded, white, with a broad 
band of dark brown near the end, and tipt with white; body 
below, and breast, light yellow ochre, blotched and streaked 
with chocolate. What constitutes a characteristic mark of this 
bird, is a belt or girdle, of very dark brown, passing round the 
belly, just below the breast, and reaching under the wings to 
the rump; head very broad, and bill uncommonly small, suited 
to the humility of its prey. 
The female is much darker both above and below, particu- 
larly in the belt or girdle, which is nearly black; the tail-coverts 
are also spotted with chocolate; she is also something larger. 
