344 
The Hjjlory ^ANIMALS. 
Falco pedibus c&rideis, dorfo ferrugineo nigricante. 
The blue-legged Falco > with a dufky , ferrugineous bach . 
■ K ..... 
. . .■ ~ 'i 
This is a very large-, but not a very beautiful, fpecies ; it is of the fize of a full- 
grown hen. It is a very fwift flier, and fo bold, that there is fcarce any bird it will 
not feize upon r the head is large and rounded, not like thofe of the other birds of 
prey, which have it fmall and flatted on the crown : the beak is fhort, but it is very 
ffrong ; it is broad at the bafe, and hooked at the point 5 the opening of the mouth is 
very wide, and the fwallow remarkably large : the body is long, in proportion to it’s 
thicknefsj and the wings and tail are longer alfo than in mod other fpecies: the back 
is of a deep, ferrugineous colour, with a tinge of black : the bread is paler, and the 
wings and tail are of a middle colour, between that of the back and that of the 
bread : the legs are fhort, but they are Very robuft j they are of a bluifh colour : and 
the toes are long, and the claws very long, black, and fharp. 
It is frequent in fome parts of Germany, but is not a native of England - it is 
very mifchievous to the neighbourhoods, particularly where it builds: it will at any 
time feize upon the larged domedic fowls, and will often kill four or five, before it 
carries one off; but in the breeding time it will attack young kids and fawns, and, in 
fhort, almod any thing that comes in it’s way ; and, if the whole of it’s conqued be 
too heavy to be carried, it will take it piece-meal. Mod of the people who have 
written on birds have defcribed it under the name of Falco Sacer. 
Falco dorfo livido , pedibusflavo-viridefceniibus. 3 CJ )t 
The greenijh-legged Falco , with a livid bach f&JCOtU 
This is a large fpecies j it equals a full-grown hen in fize: the head is moderately 
large, but it is fomewhat flatted at the top, and is narrower toward the beak, and 
broader from thence to the hinder part: the beak is fhort, but it is very drong ; it is 
of a bluifh colour, but very deep, and with fomewhat of a tinge of olive j it is broad 
at the bafe, and pointed at the extremity, and is very hooked : the cera or membrane 
covering it’s bafe is of a dufky olive colour: the noftrils are large and open ; the eyes 
are large, and have a very fierce look, but the part of the head immediately over 
them is fwelled out in fuch a manner, that they feem funk in their fockets, or hid 
under very prominent eye-brows : the neck is fhort, and of a dufky livid colour, with 
fome admixture of brown in it: the fhoulders are large, and, with the prominence of 
the tops of the wings, they have an appearance of gibbofity: the back is of a livid 
or deep greyidi colour 5 the bread and belly are of a paler grey, and are fomewhat 
variegated j the wings are very long j when clofed, they reach to the tip of the tail, 
and, when expanded, they meafure in extent, at lead, three times the length of the 
body : there are ufually a few black fpots on the wings, and more on the back of this 
fpecies, but that is not univerfal. 
The legs are long and very robud; they are of a dufky greenifh colour, with an 
admixture of blue and of yellow, in fhades: the toes are long, and the claws are very 
fharp and formidable. 
This fpecies is caught fometimes in Germany, and in many other parts of Eu¬ 
rope 5 but it is a bird of pafiage, and we do not know where it breeds. It varies 
in colour, whence the writers on birds have divided it into feveral fpecies. They have 
called it Falco gibbofus and Falco peregrinus. It is defcribed twice in Willughby, and 
three times in Aldrovand. 
Falco 
