WHITE-TAILED HAWK. 
383 
being bluish slate, is more of a dirty greyish, slightly tinged 
with ferruginous ; the tail is less purely white. These sexual 
differences are the more worthy of note, as they are the reverse 
of what is exhibited in other hawks. It is, however, possible 
that they are not to be found in very old males. 
The young of both sexes, but especially the young males, 
are somewhat darker, and are strongly tinged with ferruginous, 
principally on the head, neck, and wings; the breast being 
entirely of that colour. A specimen of the African species in 
this state is figured by Le Vaillant, whose plates in general 
are tolerably accurate ; but how great is the disappointment 
of the ornithologist to find the tarsi represented as covered 
distinctly with plates, as in other hawks ! We cannot let pass 
this opportunity of exhorting engravers, draftsmen, and all 
artists employed on works of natural history, never to depend 
on what they are accustomed to see, but in all cases to copy 
faithfully what they have under their eyes ; otherwise, taking 
for granted what they ought not, they will inevitably fall into 
these gross errors. Even the accurate Wilson himself, or 
rather perhaps his engraver, has committed the same error in 
representing the feet of the swallow- tailed hawk. Of what 
consequence, will it perhaps be said, is the form of the scales 
covering the foot of a hawk ? But these alBford precisely one 
of the best representative characters of groups, and it will, 
therefore, not be thought unnecessary to caution artists in this, 
and similar cases. 
The young, as described by Temminck, is in a more ad- 
vanced stage of plumage ; the front, forepart of the neck, 
thighs, flanks, and under tail-coverts, are of pure white ; the 
breast and belly are of the same colour, but are marked with 
reddish spots, and brown lines ; the occiput, nucha, back, and 
scapulars, are brownish, mixed with whitish, and more or less 
tinged with cinereous ; all these feathers having wide margins 
of whitish and reddish ; the upper tail-coverts are black, with 
reddish margins ; the inferior, marbled with black and white ; 
the quills are bluish, terminated with white ; the tail is of a 
