78 
FALCO LAGOPUS. 
of April, these birds abandon tbis part of the country, 
and retire to the north to breed. 
They are common, during winter, in the lower parts 
of Maryland, and numerous in the extensive meadows 
below Newark, New Jersey; are frequent along the 
Connecticut river, and, according to Pennant, inhabit 
England, Norway, and Lapmark. Their flight is slow 
and heavy. They are often seen coursing over the 
surface of the meadows, long after sunset, many times 
in pairs. They generally roost on the tall detached 
trees that rise from these low grounds ; and take their 
stations, at day-break, near a ditch, hank, or hay stack, 
for hours together, watching, with patient vigilance, 
for the first unlucky frog, mouse, or lizard, to make its 
appearance. The instant one of these is descried, the 
hawk, sliding into the air, and taking a circuitous 
course along the surface, sweeps over the spot, and in 
an instant has his prey grappled and sprawling in the 
air. 
The rough-legged hawk measures twenty-two inches 
in length, and four feet two inches in extent ; cere, 
sides of the mouth, and feet, rich yellow; legs, feathered 
to the toes, with brownish yellow plumage, streaked 
with brown ; femorals the same ; toes, comparatively 
short ; claws and bill, blue black ; iris of the eye, bright 
amber; upper part of the head, pale ochre, streaked with 
brown ; back and wings, chocolate, each feather edged 
with bright ferruginous ; first four primaries, nearly 
black about the tips, edged externally with silvery in 
some lights ; rest of the quills, dark chocolate ; lower 
side, and interior vanes, white ; tail coverts, white ; 
tail, rounded, white, with a broad band of dark brown 
near the end, and tipt with white; body below, and 
breast, light yellow ochre, blotched and streaked with 
chocolate. What constitutes a characteristic mark of 
this bird, is a belt, or girdle, of very dark brown, passing 
round the belly just below the breast, and reaching 
under the wings to the rump ; head, very broad, and 
bill uncommonly small, suited to the humility of its 
prey. 
