212 
SHARP- SHINNED HAWK. 
edges of the inside of the shins, below the knee, projecting 
like the edge of a knife, hard and sharp, as if intended 
to enable the bird to hold its prey with more security 
between them ; eye, brilliant yellow, sunk below a project- 
ing cartilage. 
The male was nearly two inches shorter ; the upper parts, 
dark brown ; the feathers, skirted with pale reddish, the front 
streaked with the same ; cere, greenish yellow ; lores, bluish ; 
bill, black, as in the female ; streak over the eye, lighter than 
in the former ; chin, white ; breast the same, streaked with 
brown ; bars on the tail, rather narrower, but in tint and number 
the same ; belly and vent, white ; feet and shins, exactly as in 
the female ; the toes have the same pendulous lobes which 
mark those of the female, and of which the representation in 
the plate will give a correct idea ; the wings barred with black, 
very noticeable on the lower side. 
Since writing the above, I have shot another specimen of 
this Hawk, corresponding in almost every particular with the 
male last mentioned ; and which, on dissection, also proves to 
be a male. This last had within the grasp of his sharp talons 
a small lizard, just killed, on which he was about to feed. 
How he contrived to get possession of it appeared to me 
matter of surprise, as lightning itself seems scarcely more 
fleet than this little reptile. So rapid are its motions, that, 
in passing from one place to another, it vanishes, and actually 
eludes the eye in running a distance of twelve or fifteen 
feet. It is frequently seen on fences that are covered with 
gray moss and lichen, which in colour it very much resembles ; 
it seeks shelter in hollow trees, and also in the ground about 
their decayed roots. They are most numerous in hilly parts 
of the country, particularly on the declivities of the Blue 
Mountain, among the crevices of rocks and stones. When 
they are disposed to run, it is almost impossible to shoot 
them, as they disappear at the first touch of the trigger. For 
the satisfaction of the curious, I have introduced a full sized 
figure of this lizard, which is known in many parts of the 
country by the name of the Swift. 
