BIRDS. 
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pouncing on it with the rapidity of a dart, seizes it in his 
talons, and carries it off to his nest. He is, however, a 
great coward, and if the hen flies at him, which she always 
does if she sees him, he will drop the chicken, and fly off. 
He is larger than the common buzzard ; and, though he 
weighs somewhat less than three pounds, the extent of 
his wings is more than five feet. The head and back are 
of a pale ash colour, varied with longitudinal lines across 
the shafts of the feathers ; the neck is reddish ; the lesser 
rows of the wing feathers are party-coloured, of black, 
red, and white ; the feathers covering the inside of the 
wings are red, with black spots in the middle. The eyes 
are large, the legs and feet yellow, the talons black. He 
is a handsome bird, and seems almost for ever on the 
wing. He rests himself on the air, and appears not to 
make the smallest effort in flying, but rather to glide 
along with the gentlest breeze. 
THE FALCON. (Falco communis.) 
THE Falcon is a predaceous bird, of which there are 
several species. The Gerfalcon is the largest, and it is 
found in the northern parts of Europe ; and, next to the 
eagle, it is the most formidable, the most active, and the 
