188 
P A L C O. 
legs yellow ; bill black!fli ; body-above cinereous, beneath 
white; inner quill-featiters cinereous with white tips; 
nineteen inches long, tail nearly nine. Bill black, green 
at the root. Inhabits Ruflia. 
94. Falco gent ills, the gentle falcon. Cere and legs 
yellow ; body cinereous with brown fpots ; tail with four 
blackilh bands; larger than tiie gos-hawk; lives on par¬ 
tridges, Bill lead colour; irius yellow; head reddilh 
with oblong black fpots; tail dotted with white; claws 
black. Moults in March. Inhabits the mountains of Eu¬ 
rope and North America. 
95. Falco communis, the-common falcon; Body brown ; 
the feathers edged with nifty ; tail with darker tranfverfe 
bands; bill bluifh-afh ; cere, irids, and legs, yellow. 
Larger than the gos-hawk; feeds on partridges; body be. 
neaih white, with dufkv heart-lhaped fpots; tail dotted 
with white; claws black. Inhabits Europe and North 
America. The common falcon does not moult till Au- 
guft. It is broader over the. (boulders, its eyes are larger 
and deeper funk, its bill thicker, its legs longer and bet¬ 
ter fet, than in the gentle falcon ; thofe caught in the nek 
are called ninny falcons (fav(or\s-niriai)\ when taken too 
young, they are often noiiy and difficult to train. Forget, 
formerly director of falconry at Verfailles, obfbrves, “ that 
there is no material difference between the falcons of dif¬ 
ferent countries, except in the fize ; thofe which come 
from the north are commonly larger than thole from the 
mountains, from the Alps, and Pyrenees; the latter are 
taken in the neft, tIre former are caught in their paffage 
in various regions ; they migrate in October and Novem¬ 
ber, and return in February and March. The age of fal¬ 
cons is marked very precifely in the fecond year, that is, 
at the ffrft moulting; but afterwards it is much more dif¬ 
ficult to diftinguilh it. It may however be difeovered till 
the third moulting, not only from the changes of the co¬ 
lour of the plumage, but from the complexion of the feet 
and cere.” 
'I he following are the varieties of the common falcon. 
| 3 . F. Itornotinus, the yearling falcon ; inclining to brown. 
y. F. gibbofus , the haggard or aged falcon ; with the back 
gibbous. c)\ F. Icucccephalus , the white-headed falcon ; 
with brown fpots on the head, neck, and break, s. F. 
albus, the white falcon ; entirely while, with hardly-vifible 
yellow fpots; inhabits China. 
F. niger, the black or pallenger falcon. The black 
falcon is a bird of paffage at Malta, in France, and in 
Germany, which Frilch and Edwards have accurately 
figured and deferibed. The bill is of a dark lead colour ; 
the eyes dark and brilliant, over which is a ftreak of 
orange-red ; the upper part of the head, neck, back, 
wings, and tail, are of a dufky colour; the tips of the 
covert feathers of tlie wings and tail are of a ruflet brown ; 
the ridge of the wing on the upper part is white, and 
vithin-fide is marked with tranfverfe bars of black and 
clay colour ; the legs and feet are of a greenilh yellow, 
inclining downwards to a dirty blue ; the claws ftrong 
ar.d black. It is a native of Hudfon’s-bay, and migrates 
in the fummer months. The pallenger or pilgrim falcons 
are caught in their paffage every year in September on the 
iffands in the fea, and the high beaches by the ffiore. 
They are naturally quick and docile, and very eafy to 
train ; they may be flown all May and June; for they 
are late in moulting ; but, when it begins, they are foon 
ftripped of their plumage. The pilgrim falcons are 
caught not only on the coafts of Barbary, but in all the 
iffands of the Mediterranean, and particularly that of 
Candia, which formerly furniffted our bed falcons. The 
bird which the Mexicans call hotli , mentioned by Fernan¬ 
dez, appears to be the fame falcon. This bird is black 
on all- tiie upper part of the head and body, fhining with 
a blue and purplifh glofs; but the break and belly, from 
tire bill to the tail, is a beautiful bright orange colour, 
lighter on the break than in other parts ; its thighs are 
brawny, its legs thick and fhort, and its toes armed with 
very ftrong talons, little inferior to thofe of the eagle. 
Thefe falcons arc endowed with, great courage and faga. 
city, and are in high requek throughout Perfin, and other 
parts of Alia. 1 he Perlians are expert in training buds 
for the.chafe ; and they generally inftrucl the falcons to 
fly at all forts of game, and for tills purpofe they take 
cranes and other birds, and, putting out their eyes, they 
fet.them at liberty, and immediately, let loofe the falcon, 
which e a 111 y: c a t c tie s: t he m. 
«. F. naxiius, the fpo*ted-winged falcon ; faid to inha¬ 
bit rJudlbn’s-bay. 8. F.fufcvs, the brown falcon ; body 
above brown with darker fpots; beneath white with 
brown fpots. 1. F. ruber , the red falcon ; fpotte.d black 
and red. y_. F. Indicus, the red Indian falcon, deferibed 
by Aldrovandus nearly as follows : In the female, which 
is a third larger than the male, the upper part of the 
head is broad, and altnok fiat ; the colour of the head, 
neck, all the back and the upper part of the wings, ta 
afb, verging 011 brown ; the bill is very thick, though 
the hook is rather fmall; the bafe of the bill is yellow, 
and the rek, as far as tire hook, is cinereous ; the pupil 
of the eyes is very black, the iris brown, the whole of the 
l reaft, the higher part of the upper furface of the wings, 
the beily, the rump, and the thighs, are orange inclined 
to red ; above the break and below the chin there is a 
long cinereous fpot, and feveral fmall fpots of the fame 
colour on the break ; the tail is radiated with femicircular 
bars, alternately brown and afh-coloured ; the legs and 
feet arc yellow, and the nails black. In the male, all the 
parts which are red have a richer colour thole which 
are cinereous have more bi;own ; the bill is bluer, and 
the feet more yellow. The red falcon is often found in 
flat fftuations, and in marfhes ; it is bold and difficult to 
controul. A. F. Italicvs, the Italian falcon ; break yellow, 
with ruky fpots, wing fpotted with white towards the 
tips. p. F. arblicus , tiie arftic falcon. 
96. Falco Iflandus, the Iceland falcon. Cere and 
legs yellow ; body brown, beneath white with hearted 
black fpots ; tail banded with white. Inhabits Iceland ; 
twenty-one inches long. Head white mixed with ferru¬ 
ginous ; back dufky, the feathers whitifh, banded with 
brown and edged with white ; tail rounded, with about 
fourteen bands alternately brown and white ; claws black, 
the hind one very long. There are two varieties: 1. 
White ; above with fmall hearted black fpots ; tail 
white ; two middle tail-feathers cbfcurely banded with 
black. 2. Wli ite, with large hearted fpots ; tail-feathers 
white, all barred with black. 
97. Falco Barbarus, the Barbary falcon. Cere and legs 
-yellow; body bluilh fpotted with brown ; break without 
fpots; tail barred. Bill black ; irids yellow ; wings 
fcarcely fpotted ; break yellow ifh-white verging to blue ; 
belly with oblong black fpots ; tail with (even tranfverfe 
brown bands. Inhabits Barbary ; feventeen inches long. 
98. l'alco peregrinus, the peregrine falcon. Cere and 
legs yellow ; body above cinereous flriped with brown, 
beneath reddifh white with blackilh kripes ; tail dotted 
-with white. Inhabits Europe, northern Alia, and Ame¬ 
rica ; migrates. The Tartarian falcon is a variety with 
rufous wings and very long toes. 
99. Falco verficolor, the fpotted falcon. Cere yellow; 
head and body above white with pale redriifh fpots, be¬ 
neath white; break a little fpotted with ferruginous. 
Bill black ; wings with cinereous bands ; tail barred with 
lighter and darker brown ; rump white. Inhabits Eng¬ 
land. 
100. Falco pennatus, the booted falcon. Cere and 
legs yellow ; body above variegated with blackifh-brown 
and dirty-grey, beneath brown-yellow with longitudinal 
blackilh lines ; feet feathered to the toes. Length nine¬ 
teen or twenty inches ; bill blackilh ; eyelids yellow ; 
head and neck yellow-grey with blackilh lines ; tail 
brown, towards the tip blackilh, grey at the point, fpot¬ 
ted with white at the (ides ; claws black. 
101. Falco fpadiceus, the chocolate falcon. Cere yel¬ 
low ; body chocolate mixed withrufty, beneath white at 
the 
