BRITISH BIRDS. 
29 
THE JER-FALCON. 
(Fa/co Gyrfalcoy Lin . — Le Gerfauty Buff.) 
This is a very elegant fpecies, and equals the 
Gofliawk in fize : Its bill is much hooked, and yel- 
low ; the iris is dulky ; the throat white, as is 
likewife the general colour of the plumage, fpotted 
with brown ; the break and belly are marked with 
lines, pointing downwards ; the fpots on the back 
and wings are larger ; the feathers on the thighs 
are very long, and of a pure white ; thofe of the 
tail are barred ; the legs are of a pale blue, and 
feathered below the knee. This bird is a native 
of the cold and dreary climates of the north, being 
found in Ruffia, Norway, and Iceland ; it is never 
feen in warm, and feldom in temperate climates ; it 
is found, but rarely, in Scotland and the Orkneys. 
Buffon mentions three varieties of the Jer- Falcon; 
the firft is brown on all the upper parts of the bo- 
dy, and white fpotted with brown on the under: 
This is found in Iceland : The fecond is very fimilar 
to it ; and the third is entirely white. Next to the 
Eagle, it is the moll formidable, the moll active, 
and the moll intrepid of all voracious birds, and is 
the deareft and moll efteemed for falconry : It is 
tranfported from Iceland and Ruffia into France, 
Italy, and even into Perfia and Turkey — nor does 
the heat of thefe climates appear to diminifh its 
