F A L 
150. Falco vefpertinus, the Ingrian falcon. Cere, legs, 
and eyelids, yellow ; vent and thighs rufty. Size of a 
pigeon; body bluifh-brown ; belly bluifh-white; head 
brown; bill yellow, brown at the tip; tail feathers 
twelve, brown each fide ; quill-feathers bluifh-white, the 
firft feven blackilh at the tip; legs naked. Inhabits In. 
gria and other parts of Ruffia and Siberia ; builds on the 
top branches of trees, or takes pofleffion of the magpie’s 
neft ; preys on quails, and goes abroad chiefly in the 
evening and at night. 
151. Falco vefperlinoides, the Permian falcon. Cere, 
legs, and eyelids, yellow ; thighs black ; neck, breaft, 
and belly, brownifh fpotted with white. A very fmall 
fpecies. " Inhabits Pennia and Siberia. 
152. Falco magniroflris, the great-billed falcon. Cere 
and le^s yellow ; body above brown, beneath white 
flreaked with rufty ; tail with black and white bars, 
This bird is termed by Buffon, the thick-billedfparrow- 
hawk of Cayenne ; for it refembles the fparrow-hawk more 
than any other bird of prey ; being only fomewhat larger 
and rounder fliaped. Its bill is alfo thicker and longer, 
but the legs rather Ihorter. Thelower part of the throat 
is of an uniform wine colour; whereas, in the fparrow- 
hawk it is whitifh : but in general the refemblance is fo 
clofe, that we may confider it as kindred fpecies, and per¬ 
haps the difference originates from the influence of cli¬ 
mate. 
153. Falco vociferus, the criad falcon. Legs yellow ; 
body grey-alh, beneath white ; larger and fmaller wing-co¬ 
verts black. Size of a pigeon ; preys on frogs. Irides 
yellow ; orbits red, naked ; eyelids with laflies. Inhabits 
Jndia. Added by Turton from Smellie. 
154. Falco Johannenfis, the Johanna falcon. Legs yel¬ 
low ; body rufty with ('mail linear black fpots ; chin yel¬ 
low ; quill-feathers blackifh-brown ; tail white, wedged. 
Bill black, lower mandible yellow at the bafe. Inhabits 
Johanna ifland. Added by Turton. 
155. Falco fubbuteo, the hobby. Cere and legs yel¬ 
low ; back brown; nape white ; belly paliflt with oblong 
brown fpots. The hobby is much fmaller than the fal¬ 
con, and of a different dilpofition. The fiery courage, of 
the falcon prompts him to attack birds that are far fupe- 
rior in fize ; but tlfe cautious hobby, unlefs trained to 
the chace, rarely, afpires beyond the prey of larks and 
quails. The want of boldnefs, however, is compenfated 
by its induflry. No looner does it efpy the fportfman and 
his dog, than it hovers in the train, and endeavours to 
catch the fmall birds that are put up before them ; and 
■what efcapes the fowling-piece eludes not the hobby. It 
feems not intimidated by the noife of fire-arms, for it con¬ 
tinues to keep clofe to the perfon who (hoots. It fre¬ 
quents the champaign country near woods, efpecially 
where larks are numerous,. It commits great havock 
among them, and thefe are well apprized of their fatal 
enemy; they are alarmed when they defery it, and in- 
flantly dive into the bullies, or feek concealment in the 
herbage. This is the only way in which the lark can ef¬ 
fect its efcape ; for, though it foars to a great height, the 
hobby can iiill outftrip it. The hobby lodges and breeds 
in the woods, and perches upon the tailed trees. For¬ 
merly the name of hobby was applied to the petty barons 
who tyrannifed over their peafants, and more particularly 
.to gentlemen of the (port who would hunt on their neigh¬ 
bours’ grounds without obtaining leave, and who hunted 
lefs for pjeafure than for profit. This application of the 
name of hobby to country gentlemen might alfo be owing 
' to another circumftauce. Thofe who were not rich enough 
to keep falcons were contented with breeding hobbies. 
Hence the phrafe that “Every man mud have his hob¬ 
by.” We may obferve, that in this fpecies of birds the 
piumage is blacker during the find year than in the fuc- 
ceeding ones, hi France there is a variety of the hobby, 
mentioned by Buffon. The difference condds in this; 
that the throat, the lower part of the neck, the bread, a 
part of the belly, and the great feathers of the wings, 
CO. 195 
are cinereous and without fpots; whereas, in the common 
hobby, the throat and the lower part of the neck are 
white, the bread and the upper part of the belly are 
white alfo, with longitudinal brown fpots; and the great 
feathers of the wings are alrnod black. The tail, which 
in the common fpecies is whitifii below, dallied witli 
brown, is in the variety entirely brown. But notwith- 
danding fuch differences, thefe two birds art dill of the 
fame kind ; for their fize and port are the fame, and be- 
fides, they have in common a Angular character, that the 
lower part of the belly and the thighs are covered with 
feathers of a bright ferruginous colour, and which is 
drongly contraded with the red of the plumage. It is 
not unlikely but that all this diverfity of colours arifes 
from the age or the feafon of moulting. Length twelve 
inches; alar extent two feet feven inches. It inhabits 
Europe and Siberia. In dimmer it is frequent in Eng¬ 
land, where it breeds, and migrates in October. 
156. Falco aurantius, the orange-breaded hobby. Bill 
and legs lead-colour ; body above dufky-brovvn with nar¬ 
row whitifh lines eroding each other; chin with long 
narrow w'hitifh feathers ; throat and bread orange ; belly 
and tail with brown interrupted dreaks. Bill whitifh at 
the bafe; throat with round white fpots; lower tail-co¬ 
verts rudy ; tail towards the tip with white lines; legs 
long, dender ; claws black. Inhabits Surinam : fifteen 
inches long. There me two varieties : 1. With dreaks- 
on the body more dufky ; chin white ; throat orange ; 
ten inches long. 2. Legs tawny ; body above bluifh- 
black with bluifh dreaks, beneath (freaked with white. 
Size of the lad : belly, vent and thighs reddidi ; chin 
and throat reddidi, with a white foot in the middle. 
157. Falco plumbeus, the lead-coloured hobby. Cere 
dufky; legs yellow ; body cinereous, upper part of the 
back black lead-colour; tail-feathers underneath with 
three white fpots. Bill and claws black ; head and neck 
cinereous; legs fliort. Inhabits Cayenne: fize of the 
fparrow hawk. 
158. Falco aefalon, the merlin. Cere and legs yellow ; 
head ferruginous ; body above bluifh-afh with rudy fpots 
and dripes; beneath yellowifh-white with oblong fpots. 
The merlin is one of the fmalled of the rapacious tribe, 
not exceeding the fize of a large thrulh. Still we muff 
reckon it a generous kind, and the neared approaching 
the fpecies of the falcon : it has the fame plumage, the 
fame fhape and attitude, the fame difpofition and docility, 
not inferier in ardour and courage. It makes war againft 
larks, quails, and even partridges, which it feizes and car¬ 
ries oft, though they are much heavier than itfelf. This 
fmall bird is fhaped like the hobby, and dill more like 
the ftone-falcon : but its wings are much fliorter than 
thofe of the hobby, and reach not near the end of the, 
tail. The merlin differs from the falcon, and indeed all 
the rapacious tribe, by a character which approximates ;t 
to the common clafs of birds : viz. the male and female 
are of tlie fame fize. The great inequality of fize, there ¬ 
fore, obferved between thefexes in birds of prey, cannot 
be attributed to the mode of life, or to any peculiar ha¬ 
bit. The merlin flies low, though with great celerity 
and eafe: it frequents woods and bullies to feize the 
fmall birds, and hunts alone unaflifled by its female it 
breeds in the mountain forefts, and lays five or fix eggs. 
But, belides the one juft deferibed, there is another kind 
of merlin, found in the Antilles, which Frifch has figured 
and Briflbn deferibed from nature. This ditfeis confide- 
rably from the former, and feems to referable more the 
keftrel. Gmelin and Latham regard the falconers’ mer¬ 
lin, and that of the Antilles, as ftmple varieties. There 
is alfo a New-York variety. 
159. Falco fparverius, the little hawk. C e-re'yellow : 
head brown ; crown and belly red ; wings bluifh . Bill and 
Irias yellowifh ; head bluifh-afh ; crown,.body above anti 
wing-coverts brown-orange with tranfverle black ftreaks.; 
tail red-brown dotted with black; legs yellow ; head of 
the female fummnded with feven blackilh fpots. Inha- 
1 r bits 
