F A 
edged with yellow j legs yellow ; body brown ; tail-fea¬ 
thers with pale bands; eyebrows white. Inhabits Europe, 
Alia, and America; twenty-two inches long; devours 
poultry, and was formerly much ufed in falconry. The 
gos-hawk is a beautiful bird, much larger than the fpar¬ 
row-hawk, which it however refembles by its inflindts. 
Before it has (lied its feathers, that is, in its firft year, it 
is marked on the bread and belly with longitudinal brown 
fpots ranged vertically; but, after it has had two moult- 
ings, thefe difappear, and their place is occupied by tranf- 
verfe bars which continue during the red of its life. Hence 
we are apt to be deceived with refpedl to this bird, from 
the change that happens in the difpofitiop. of the colours of 
the plumage. The male is much (mailer than the female : 
both were trained to the chace, and carried on the hand, 
but not ufed as decoys ; they foar not fo high as thofe 
whole wings are longer in proportion to their body; they 
have many habits in common with the fparrow-hawk, yet 
they do not dart diredlly down upon their prey, but catch 
it by a fide (hoot. It appears by Belon’s account that 
the gos-hawk can be enfnared by a contrivance fimilar to 
what is pradtifed againft the fparrow-hawk. A white 
pigeon, which can be perceived at a great didance, is 
placed between four nets, nine or ten feet high, incloling 
a fpace of nine or ten feet each way round the pigeon, 
which is in the centre : the gos-hawk defeends obliquely, 
puflies tire net to reach his prize, and, though entangled, 
lie devours it, and till fitted makes few attempts to efcape. 
The gos-hawk abounds mod in Germany ; and the fpecies 
feems to penetrate into the,countries of the north as far 
as Sweden, and advances in thole of the ead and fouth to 
Perfia and Barbary. This bird was formerly in high edeem 
among falconers, being flown at cranes, pheafants, and 
partridges. It breeds in France and in Scotland, as well 
as in the countries before-mentioned ; and builds its tied 
in trees. It is very deflrudtive to game, and dallies through 
the woods after its quarry with vad impetuofity ; but, if 
it cannot catch the object of its purfuit almod immedi¬ 
ately, it delids, and perches on a bough till feme new 
game prefents itfelf. This fpecies is alfo common in Muf- 
covy and Siberia. They extend to the river Amur; and 
are ufed by the emperor of China in his fporting pro- 
grefles, attended by his grand falconer and one thou land 
of tlie fubordinate. Every bird has a (ilver plate fattened 
to its foot, with the name of the falconer who had the 
charge of it; that, in cafe it (liould be lod, it might be 
brought to the proper perfon : but, if he cannot be found, 
the bird is delivered to another officer, called the guardian 
of loft birds-, who keeps it till it is demanded by the fal¬ 
coner to whom it belonged. 
90. Faleo palumbarius criflatus, the tufted gos-hawk. 
This is a new-fpecies from Cayenne, deferibed by Vail- 
1 an 4 t in his Hidory of African birds. The .white gos hawk 
of fome writers is really the prefent fpecies in its infancy ; 
5 ' is erroneoufly deferibed, under various names, by Brif- 
ion and Buffon. 1 1 differs totally from the European gos¬ 
hawk in the colours of its plumage, and is at lead one- 
third bigger. The (pecific character may be taken from 
“ a tuft of feathers.of unequal length, which fpring from 
the hind-head, and fall back upon the neck ; and the legs 
are entirely covered with feathers.” The top of the head 
is black ; but the feathers are white underneath, which 
fome times-appears when they are ruffled ; the fame colours 
prevail in the tuft. All the iiind part of the neck is dark 
red, the front white (haded with rufous ; a black dripe 
runs Irom the corner ot the mouth down the fidts. of the 
neck, feparating the red of the neck from the white of the 
throat. On all the Iront part of the body large black fpots 
appear on a white or reddifh ground. The legSare tra.nl- 
verfely barred with white and black; thefe (liipes are 
fainter on the legs. The wings and mantle are dark brown 
(haded with black. The (mailer wing-coverts have little 
drokes of white at their edges ; the tail-quills are brown, 
with broad tranfverfe (tripes of black. '1 lie bill is bluifli, 
at the bale reddtlh ; the to.es yellowilh, the claws horn- 
j 
L C O. 187 
colour.—Vaillant met with no bird in Africa which could 
be clafled among the gos-hawks. The defeription of this 
being taken from a dried fpecinten from Cayenne, its man¬ 
ners and habits are not known ; from the drength of its 
beak and claws, it mud be a great dedroyer of game, and- 
might be very properly reared among falcons for fport. 
Mauduit calls it an eagle. Several authors have deferibed 
other birds of prey under the name of gos-hawks; but 
upon the whole Vaillant is of opinion that there are only 
tw'o fpecies at prefent known. He calls this antour huppe. 
91. Faleo tachiro, the tachiro. This is clafled by 
Vaillant among “ birds of prey to which we have nothing 
analogous in Europe.” This certainly belongs to the 
faleo genus, though whether to the falcons or gos-hawks, 
or to what divifion, it is not eafy to (ay. The legs are 
fhorter than the falcons or fparrow-hawks, and the wings 
are longer and ditferently (haped. It is nearly the fize ot 
our gos-hawk. This bird is met with in the majeflic 
forefls of the mod didant parts of the Auteniquois coun¬ 
try. In the gloom of thefe woods, amid immenfe large 
trees, which have been growing undidurbed for many 
generations ; there, among the harmonious warblings of 
various birds, the difeordant and piercing cries oi the 
tachiro drike the ear. This voracious animal is the 
fcourge and tyrant of all the fmaller birds within his 
reach. 
The tail of this bird is nearly as long as the body ; and 
the wings when at red reach fomething more than half its 
length. The head and neck are varied with white and 
red (potted with dark brown. The throat is white mixed 
with red. The mantle is a dull brown, as well as the 
wing-coverts, though each feather is edged with a lighter 
tint. The large wing-quills are tipped with white ; the 
tail underneath is white, with broad bars ofdulky black; 
it is brown above, with darker bars. The under parts ot 
the body are white mixed with red, arid brown (pots of 
various (hades ; thefe fpots are either round or femi-cir- 
cular, but on the thighs they are heart-lhaped. The bill 
is bluifli, the nails black, the legs and feet yellow. The 
iris of the eye is of the colour of a topaz. The temale is 
larger than the male ; her plumage has more ot a reddifls 
tinge, the white not fo clean, the fpots not fo well ex- 
preifed. Thefe birds build in the forked branches of the 
largeft trees ; the nefl is confirudted of light twigs and 
mofs, and lined with feathers. “ I difeovered one of tliele- 
nefls,” fays Vaillant, “ in which were three young, en¬ 
tirely covered with a reddifh down. Intending to let the 
old ones bring them up for fome time, I left them : I 
vilited them every three or four days, and generally car¬ 
ried fome bird’s flefn, which I laid on the edge of the 
nefl; and it was always devoured before my next vifit. 
But I am inclined to think the old ones ate it themfelves; 
for I generally obferved about the nefl a vaft quantity of 
grafshoppers wings, and thofe infedts I fuppofe to have 
been the principal food of the young ones. The old ones 
kept up for the greatefl part of the day a (brill noife like 
Crcc-crce — cree-cree-crce — cree-cree ; i. e. the fame (yliable or 
note twice and thrice alternately. When I approached 
the young, the old ones came both fo near me, to de¬ 
fend them, that i could eafily have knocked them down 
with a flick. But I waited till it was too late to feize 
the prey I meditated ; one day, when I visited the nefl as 
ufual, both young and old had difappeared. By the ap¬ 
pearance of the pieces of (hells which remained, the eggs 
were white vvitli fome red fpots. I never met with the 
tachiro in the champaign country ; only in thefe enor¬ 
mouswoods which bound the (iueur-boom, and jn the 
vafl fortfls of the Auteniquois.” 
92. Faleo Cayennenfis, the Cayenne falcon. Begs 
blue ; head and neck bluifn-w hite ; back and wings dufky- 
afli ; throat, break, and belly, whitifli. Inhabits Cayenne. 
Bill blue ; claws and primary quill-feathers black, fecon- 
daries (freaked with black; tail with four or five alter¬ 
nately black and white bands, white at the tip. 
93, Faleo macrourus, the long-tailed falcon. Cere and 
legs. 
