56 
FALCO SPARVERIUS. 
knees, the bare part one inch in length ; span of the 
foot five inches, with a large protuberant sole ; the 
claws are large and black, hind claw the largest. 
Whether the cere is yellow, or flesh coloured, we were 
uncertain, as the bird had been some time killed when 
received ; supposed the former. 
The most striking characters of this species are the 
broad patch of black dropping below the eye, and the 
uncommonly large feet. It is stout, heavy, and firmly 
put together. 
The bird from which the above description was 
taken, was shot in a cedar swamp in Cape May county, 
New Jersey. It was a female, and contained the 
remains of small birds, among which were discovered 
the legs of the sanderling plover. 
8. FALCO SPARVERIUS, LlNNJEUS. 
AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. 
WILSON, PLATE XVI. FIG. I. FEMALE.* EDINBURGH COLLEGE 
MUSEUM. 
In no department of ornithology has there been 
greater confusion, or more mistakes made, than among 
this class of birds of prey. The great difference of size 
between the male and female, the progressive variation 
of plumage to which, for several years, they are subject, 
and the difficulty of procuring a sufficient number of 
specimens for examination; all these causes conspire to 
lead the naturalist into almost unavoidable mistakes. 
For these reasons, and in order, if possible, to ascertain 
each species of this genus distinctly, I have determined, 
where any doubt or ambiguity prevails, to represent 
* This species is allied to the falco tinnunculus , or kestril of 
Europe. 
