F A L C O. 
192 
few broad bars of brown ; the head is reddifh alfo, as in 
the female keftrel; but in the malekeftrel thefe parts are 
bluilli : in other refpeCts the two fpecies agree pretty well 
in colour. The nails and bill are black ; the cere and 
feet yellow; the throat whitilh ; the cheeks and hind 
part of the head rufous (haded with brown ; all the man¬ 
tle is dark red with -black (pots of a triangular form ; the 
belly and thighs are dark grey with a line of black down 
each feather. The bread and frdes are of a lighter red 
than the back, with longitudinal fpots. The wing-quills 
are black in the pXrt that appears when the wings are at 
reft; underneath they are ftriped with white; and the 
filialler wing-coverts underneath are fpotted with black on 
whitilh ground inclining to rufous. The female isfome- 
what larger ; the red colour is not fo ftrong, and the black 
fpots on the mantle are fewer. 
134. Falco Bohemicus, the Bohemian hawk. Legs 
yellowifh ; body above cinereous, beneath white; five 
outer quill-feathers black outlide; orbits white. Twelve 
inches long; preys during the evening on mice. Bill 
near the angles of the mouth yellowifti ; irids yellow ; tail 
fliarp, long; legs thickifti, feathered below the knees; 
claws black, roundifh. Inhabits the-mountains of Bo¬ 
hemia. 
135. Falco pifcator, the fiftiing falcon. Legs brown ; 
head ferruginous with long feathers : body above cinere¬ 
ous, beneath pale yellowifh-white ; tail above pale brown, 
beneath blui(h-afh. Inhabits Senegal, where it is called 
tamas by the negroes ; and is defcribed by Adanfon under 
the name of fiflier falcon. It refembles the common fal¬ 
con almoft entirely in the colours of its plumage ; it is, 
however, rather fmaller, and has -on its head long ereft 
feathers, which are refteiSled back, and form a creft. Its 
bill is yellow, not fo much curved, and thicker than that 
of the common falcon, and its mandibles have confider- 
able indentations. I is in ft in ft is alfo different; for it fifties ra¬ 
ther than hunts. This appears to be the fpecies which Dam- 
pier mentions by the name of fiftier falcon. “ It refem¬ 
bles,” he fays, “ in colour and figure, our fmaller falcons ; 
and its bill and talons are fhaped the .fame.. It perches 
upon the dry branches and trunks of trees that grow by 
the (ides of creeks, rivers, or near the fea-ftiore. When 
they obferve little filh near them, they (kim along-the 
furface of the water, feize them with their talons, and 
hurry them into the air without wetting their wings.” He 
adds, that they do not fwallow the filh entire, like other 
birds that fublif! on that prey, but tear it with their bill, 
and eat it by morfels. 
Vaiilant’s Jaucm huppi, or crefted fi flier falcon of Africa, 
is probably a variety of the above. It is tufted, like 
that, and very like in plumage, but fmaller. Avery 
remarkable trait, which we do not find in the-common 
filher falcon, is, that the lower mandible, befides being- 
notched on each fide like the other, is cut off or fiiortened 
at the end, and the upper one hooks coniiderably over it ; 
there is no appearance of. this peculiarity in Adah foil’s 
defcription of tlie tanas, nor in Buffon’s plates. The tufr 
is alfo different from the defign given by Buffon ; yet at- 
terall, Vaillant conceives it to be the fame fpecies, badly 
defcribed, and that Buffon’s plate was meant to represent 
fome other bird of prey, for his engravings and defcrip- 
iions very often disagree, They are both African birds, 
and may very poilibly differ in (ize in different parts of the 
country, from Senegal to the Cape. The tuft is very 
large : it rifes from the forehead, and ftretches beyond the 
back of the head, where it lies down ; but it is often ereft, 
when the bird is agitated either with anger or love ; par¬ 
ticularly the latter, as the male fpreads it out and expofes 
it to pleafe and invite his mate, to whom he is much at¬ 
tached. The mile of this fpecies is about the fize of a 
common pigeon ; the female is larger by a fourth part, 
but her tuft is Shorter. The colours are nearly the fame. 
The upper furface of the body is (late-colour, the tuft 
browniih ; the throat, neck, and bread, dirty white; the 
under part of the body .the fame, with traiifverfis ftrip.es4 
the tail is ftriped croiTwife alfo. The feet and toes are 
yellow. The bafe of the bill is blue, the end black, the 
nails or claws are black, taper, and very ftrong. There 
is a brown mark on each fide the mouth. The wings 
reach lower than the tail when folded in. The eye is 
orange-yellow. This beautiful fpecies frequents lakes, 
fea-fbpres, and rivers flocked w ith filh. They feed upon 
all kinds of frnall filh and crabs, as well as mufcles, 
cockles, &c. the (hells of which eafily yield to their ftrong 
bill. They will greedily purfue the gull, the man-of- 
war bird, and even the albatrofe and pelican, birds much 
larger than themfejves; but all fly from them ; the fwal¬ 
low feeins to fear lefs than thofe large palmipede birds. 
When the crefted falcon haunts the lea-(hores, iris neft is 
generally among the rocks: if more inland, it is built 
among the trees which border upop thofe rivers that af¬ 
ford him food. The female lays four reddifh-white eggs : 
the male partakes in the work of incubation, and never 
quits his mate but in fearch of food, which he brings to 
her in the neft. The whole family continues a long time 
together ; nor do the young feparate from the old till they 
are ready to pair and provide a family for themfelves. 
Their long wings would feem to indicate that they are ac¬ 
tive in the chace ; their flight is indeed extremely rapid ; 
but Vaillant fays he never (aw them feize upon the birds 
they purfued, though fonietimes they (truck them with 
their bills, and made them cry out; but it appeared to 
be only for the purpofe of driving intruders from the do¬ 
main they had chofen for themfelv.es, and which they fel- 
dom quit. The young ones have a fawn-coloured tint 
generally overall the plumage ; the white on tire throat, 
neck, and bread, is varied with dark grey and rufous. 
The creft does notappear till fome months after they have 
taken flight. 
136, Falco cantor, the ringing falcon. Specific cha¬ 
racter, the bafe of the bill and the legs' yellow, elegant 
plumage, and a continued fong. Such are the marks of 
one of the rpoft beautiful birds of prey in Africa. Except 
the noify eagle, before defcribed, it is perhaps the only 
bird of prey that has a muiical note. At firft fight it 
might be taken for a fpecies of fparrow-hawk ; but the 
wings are longer, the tail (horter, and the body thicker, 
in proportion. The tail is tapering, the exterior quills 
being one third (horter than tlie middle ones. The head, 
neck, bread, and -ill the upper furface of the body, are 
cinereous grey, darker on the top of t lie head, the cheeks, 
and part of the (capillars, which incline to brown. The 
upper tail-coverts are white ; on the Tides they are ftriped 
and dotted with brown. The belly is white, ftriped 
faintly -with light blue-grey; the ftripeson the reft of the 
body are more difriijdft. . The large wing-quills ;ire black. 
The tail-feathers are tipped with white; the middle ones 
black ; the reft have broad flripes or bands of white. The 
iris of the eye is dark red ; the bill and nails black. This 
fpecies .is the fize of the common falcon. The female is 
one third larger. The bafe of .the bill and-the legs are of 
a fainter colour ; they become brighter and deeper in the 
male in the feafo'n of love. Then it is that he fings - , as 
moil frnging birds do. Perched on a h'gh tree with hiS 
female by his fide, whom he does not quit through the' 
whole year, or elfe near the neft where (he is fitting, lie 
lings for hours together in a very peculiar manner. Like 
the nightingale, he is heard at funrife, at funfet, and fome- 
timesall night. In the midft of his fong lie may be eafily 
approached within gun-lhot ; but the fowler muftbe very 
careful to (land without the lead motion, if the bird flops 
to take breath ; for at thofe intervals the fmalleft noife 
will (care hint away. He is very clear-fighted, and when 
perched on a lone tree it is very difficult to approach him. 
The tinging falcon makes dreadful ltavock among hares, 
partridges, quails, &c. it will alfo eat moles, mice, and 
rats, having a mart voracious appetite. The neft is built 
in the forked branch of a tree, or in a thick -buffi ; the 
eggs are .four in number, entirely white, and'almoft found. 
When boiled, the white preferves an extraordinary tranf- 
z parency, 
