1 S3 
F A L C O. 
rock. Though it does not wage war againfl the birds, it 
is purfued by them, and teafed and pecked by them, till 
it is obliged to Ihift its place. The Indian children breed 
them when young, and employ them to lilh for pleafure 
merely, for they never give up their feizure.” 
III. Fa lcons or Hawks. Legs naked, lefs. 
Thefe fpecies of birds, from their connection with our 
amufements, have been of great importance, even among 
kings and princes. The falcon, though diminutive in 
lize, is not inferior to the eagle either in courage or ge- 
nerofity, and its I'ubferviency to the pleafure of man, has 
made it an objeCt of Hill greater curiofity. In former 
times, the amufement of hawking feems to have been 
almod univerfal ; and, from the tedimony of travellers, 
birds of this fpecies appear to be common in almod every 
quarter of the globe. They are taken in great numbers 
in the iflands of the Mediterranean, and upon the coad 
of Barbary. They abound in the kingdom of Tunis; 
and among the Arabs, as Dr. Shaw informs us, they Hill 
conditute the principal amufement of men of rank. They 
are more abundant in Perfia, where it is alleged that the 
art of falconry is cultivated above every o' her. In Japan 
they are kept as an article of equipage rather than for 
fport. Kolben mentions the falcons of the Cape of 
Good Hope, and Bofman thofe of Guinea. There is no 
quarter of the ancient continent wherein falcons are not 
found. 
60. Falco orientalis, the oriental hawk. Legs lead-co¬ 
lour ; above the eyes a ferruginous (freak ; head and body 
above dufky-brown, beneath rufty-brown; tail fpotted 
with white. Inhabits Japan : feventeen inches long. 
Bill large, black, lower mandible yellow ; head darker 
than the body ; feathers with a black middle ffripe; fe- 
condary wing-coverts fpotted with white ; claws black ; 
tail eight inches long. 
61. Falco Indicus, the Javan hawk. Cere and legs 
yellow; front and rump white; back reddifh ; belly 
rufty-brown (freaked with whitiib ; tail brown, with five 
black bands. Inhabits Java : fize of the lad. Bill yel¬ 
low at the bafe, tip black; lower wing-coverts reddifh- 
white waved with nifty; quill-feathers tranfverfely 
freaked and tipt with black ; tail-'coverts dotted with 
white ; throat and bread leddilh-brown ; claws black j 
nape whirifh. 
62. Falco buteo, the buzzard. Cere and legs yellow ; 
body, brown; belly pale with brown fpots. Inhabits 
Europe. The buzzard is fo common and fo well known, 
that it requires but little description. Its length is about 
twCnty-one inches ; its alar extent four feet and an half; 
its tail is only eight inches, and the v.’ings, when clofed, 
reach a little beyond its point; the iris is of a pale yel¬ 
low, and almolt whitifli ; the cere and feel are yellow, 
and the nails black. This bird refides the whole year in 
our foreds. It appears dupid, whether in the domedic 
date, or in that of liberty. It is fedentary, and even in¬ 
dolent : it often continues for feveral hours together 
perched upon the fame tree. Its ned is conftruCted with 
fmall branches lined in the infide with wool, and other 
fort light materials : it lays two eggs, which are whitifh, 
fpotted with yellow. It feeds and tends its young longer 
than the other birds of prey, mod of which expel their 
brood beiore they ate able to provide with eafe for them- 
felves. Ray affirms, that, if the mother happen to be 
killed in the time of her tender charge, the male buzzard 
patiently difeharges tlte trud. 
This bird of rapine does not feize its prey on the wing ; 
it fits on a tree, a buflt, or a hillock, and darts upon the 
humble game that comes within its reach. It catches 
young hares and young rabbits, as well as partridges and 
quails: it commits havoc upon the nelis of mod birds ; 
and, when more generous fubfidence is fcanty, it fubfifts 
upon frogs, lizards, ferpents, and grafs-hoppers. This 
fpecies is fubieit to great variety, fo that, if we compare 
five or fix common buzzards together, we diall fcarcely 
find two that are alike. The Latin name is buteo; the 
Greek probably from the notion that it had three 
tefiicles-, and o§%is- 
63. Falco rutilus-nigro, the red-and-black buzzard. 
The fervice buzzards render to man by dedroying rats, 
mice, moles,’ and other little animals fo injurious to agri¬ 
culture, demand fafeguard and fecurity for thefe birds, 
and even the protection of laws. Thus, at the prefent 
day, the dork is protected in Spain and Holland, therofe- 
coloured merule in Barbary, and the martin in India : 
but in the places where men are but beginning to cult' 
vate the ground, on lands as yet but half-cleared, an 
where the earth, yields her increafe at fird but unwillingly ; 
in thefe places it is mod effential to encourage animals of 
this nature. From thefe principles, this fpecies o,f buz¬ 
zard enjoys the greated fecurity among the fettlers at the 
Cape of Good Hope: they call it jakals-vogel, jackall- 
bird, becaufe its noife imitates that animal ; alio rottc - 
0 anger, rat-eater, from its habits : Vaillant calls it rounoir , 
from its colour. This buzzard therefore is found in all 
parts of the colony, where it is familiarifed, and as it 
were domedicated. It goes into the fields by day, where, 
perch'ed on a high clod of earth, or on a built, it watches 
for thofe little mifehievous quadrupeds which are its Cen¬ 
dant food. At the approach of night it returns to rood 
near the houfes, upon the trees or hedges which bound 
the enclofures of the cattle. Their r.ed is made on trees, 
or on the thicked hedges ; it is condruCted of twigs and 
mofs, with a feft lining of wool and feathers : the female 
lays three eggs, feldom four, fometimes only two ; but, 
as no one didtirbs them, they become very numerous not- 
withdanding, and are found all over the continent of 
Africa, but efnecially near tlte hordes of favages. From 
the encouragement it receives, it is not fhv, but may be 
eafily approached ; yet it is timid, and is ealily put to 
flight by the butcher-bird called the fifeal. It is about 
the fize of our buzzard, but douter ; and has a diorter 
tail, which is fquare, and the wings reach nearly to the 
tip of it. The head, neck, and mantle, are of a brownifh 
black ; fome white enlivens the feathers of the throat, 
which takes a reddifh tinge towards the bread, which, at 
lad, is ferruginous red with a few dreaks of black. The 
under part of the body is black mixed with dirty white. 
The large wing-quills are blackifh, with lines of a lighter 
colour towards their origin, and tlte inner barbs are wliit- 
i(h ; the red are blackifh at the ends; their outer barbs, 
and all the part concealed when the wing is clofed, are 
mottled or marbled ; they are alfo tranfverfely driped 
with white and black. The tail is dark red above, with 
a black fpot at the end of each feather; the two outer 
feathers only have blackifh broad dripes; it is reddifh 
grey underneath. The bafe of the bill, the feet, and 
legs, are yellow ; the bill and claws, aimed black. The 
eye is very large, and of a dark brown colour. The 
male and female are generally together : in the evening, 
before they rood for the night, they are feen to take a 
few low vertical flights ; at this time they utter thofe 
raucous notes which have gained them the name of 
jackall birds. The female is larged ; but her colours are 
not fo ftrong. 
64. Falco rutilus-grifeis, the red-and^grey buzzard. 
The prevailing colour of this bird is ferruginous red ; 
the large wing-quills are black ; and the plumage of the 
front of theTieck, bread, and under tail-coverts, is light 
grey : thus making out Vaillant’s denomination, rougri. 
The tail is entirely red above, grey beneath, with fome 
faint dripes. The red on the belly is’ lighter than on the 
mantle, and is dreaked with black. The bill and feet 
are lemon-colour; the nails black; the eyes reddidi. 
This fpecies may be called the wild buzzard, if we call 
the preceding one the domedic ; yet its manners and food 
are the fame; and it is probable, fays Vaillant, 4f that, 
being fmaller and weaker, it has been driven from the 
cultivated parts by that fpecies, like the human fpecies, 
who, to avoid the cruelties of the whites, or even of 
their 
p-r 
