52 
BIRDS OF PREY. 
tinguished by the superior whiteness of their plumage 
which augments with age, and by the increasing narrow- 
ness of the transverse stripes that ornament the upper 
parts of the body. The finest of these Falcons were 
caught in Iceland by means of baited nets ; the bait was 
commonly a Ptarmigan, Pigeon, or common Fowl, and 
such was the velocity and power of his pounce, that he 
commonly severed the head from the baited bird as 
nicely as if it had been done by a razor. These birds 
were reserved for the kings of Denmark, and from thence 
they were formerly transported into Germany, and even 
Turkey and Persia. The taste for the amusement of 
falconry was once very prevalent throughout Europe, 
and continued for several centuries, but at this time it 
has almost wholly subsided. The Tartars, and Asiatics 
generally, were also equally addicted to this amusement. 
A Sir Thomas Monson, no later than the reign of James 
the First, is said to have given a thousand pounds for a 
cast of Hawks. 
Next to the Eagle, this bird is the most formidable, 
active, and intrepid, and was held in the highest esteem 
for falconry. It boldly attacks the largest of birds ; the 
Stork, Heron, and Crane are to it easy victims ; in its 
native regions it lives much on the hare and Ptarmigan ; 
upon these it darts with astonishing velocity, and often 
seizes its prey by pouncing upon it almost perpendicu- 
larly. They breed in the cold and desert regions where 
they usually dwell, fixing their nests amidst the most 
lofty and inaccessible rocks, and are said to lay from 
3 to 5 eggs. 
In the old male, the bottom of all the plumage is white, striped upon 
the upper parts of the body and the tail with narrow brown bands. 
The lower parts are equally white, but marked with small brown 
spots in the form of tears ; these spots are larger and more numer- 
ous upon the flanks. The bill is yellowish. 
