3 3 8 Hi ft ory of ANIMALS, 
The whole upper part of the body, the back, fhoulders, neck, rump, &c. are of 
a dufky brown, with a cad of reddifh in it, but fo deep, that it tends to blacknefs; 
it may not improperly be called a ferrugineous black : the feathers covering the upper 
part of the wings are fometimes variegated with white fpots, and thefe fpots are fome- 
times difpofed quite irregularly, fometimes fo as to form a line ; but this is very uncer¬ 
tain, and in many of the birds there is not the lead; appearance of any white at all; 
in fome alfo, the feathers on the fhoulders have a few of thefe white fpots, but this is 
equally uncertain and irregular; thefe feathers on the fhoulders, and thofe on the up¬ 
per parts of the wings, however, are ufually yellowifh about the edges. 
The bread and the belly are of a pale whitifh colour, with a faint tinge of yellow, 
and are variegated with oblong fpots, of a dufky, ferrugineous brown ; thefe are not 
difpofed tranfverfely, but longitudinally running down the feathers: the feathers 
which cover the under parts of the wings are alfo variegated in the fame manner; 
but toward the fides, and on the thighs, they are variegated with oblong fpots and 
duds, which are difpofed tranfverfely, not longitudinally : the throat is of a ferrugine¬ 
ous colour, but the be ms of the feathers are black ; and between the eyes and the 
nodrils there are a number of fetae or Whifkers of a black colour: the feathers grow¬ 
ing on the upper part of the back are long, and reach down fo far, as to cover the 
whole back ; on the middle of it there grow' no feathers, there is only a downy 
matter. 
The long wing-feathers are about twenty-four in each wing; the exterior one of 
thefe is much blotter than the others, and the third and fourth are the longed : the 
extremities of the four exterior ones are alfo narrower, and blacker than thofe of the 
others, though mod of the others have their extremities indeed quite white, and they 
are all variegated on the inner part with tranfverfe lines of white and brown, in the 
manner of thofe of the fnipe: the red of the under furface of the wings is 
white, variegated in a regular and beautiful manner, with tranfverfe lines of black 
running parallel to one another : the wings are fo long, that, when clofed, they reach 
very nearly to the extremity of the tail; when open, they expand over a great furface. 
The tail is feven or eight inches long: it is compofed of twelve feathers, and, when 
expanded, is rounded at the extremity ; the extremity of each feather is grey ; be¬ 
yond this grey part there runs a tranfverfe black line, of the breadth of a finger : the 
red of the feather is variegated with tranfverfe lines, alternately black and grey, and 
the bafe is white. 
* . 
The thighs are long, very robub, and mufcular; the legs are fhort, thick, and ro- 
bud, and they are feathered a little lower than the middle joint: the lower parts of the 
legs and the feet are yellow and fcaly; they are very hard and hardi to the touch, and 
the claws are long, robud, and fharp : the outer toe is connected a little way by a 
membrane to the middle one, but it is not fo much as in many other fpecies: the claw 
on the outer toe is the fmalleb of all, and that on the hinder one is the larged. 
The liver is large, and is divided into two lobes; the gall-bladder is very large : the 
fpleen is of an oval figure, and the tedicles in the male are large and oblong : the 
domach is large, and is not mufculous as in the others, but membranous, and much 
like that of fome quadrupeds. 
When this bird grows old, the upper parts of the head and the back become grey, 
and, at lad, almod white; the males and females alfo differ in the having or want¬ 
ing white fpots and variegations on thefe parts, fo that it would be eafy for a perfon, 
not upon his guard as to thefe varieties, to make two or three fpecies from this one. 
This fpecies is a native of mod of the northern parts of Europe ; it breeds with us, 
and is, in fome parts of the kingdom, very frequent, particularly where there are thick 
woods to fcreen it. It is a very ravenous bird, and, when it has not fuch food as it 
likes, will take up with almod any thing. It will feize upon rabbits, and even hares: 
it’s fwallow is fo large, that whole fparrows have been found in the domach; but, in 
i , fcarcity 
