WHITE-TAILED HAWK. 
23 
exhibited in other Hawks. It is, however, possible, that they are 
not to be found in very old males. 
The young of both sexes, but especially the young males, are 
somewhat darker, and are strongly tinged with ferruginous, prin¬ 
cipally on the head, neck, and wings; the breast being entirely of 
that colour. A specimen of the African species in this state, is 
figured by Le Vaillant, whose plates in general are tolerably 
accurate; but how great is the disappointment of the ornithologist 
to find the tarsi represented as covered distinctly with plates, as 
in other Hawks! We cannot let pass this opportunity of exhorting 
engravers, draftsmen, and all artists employed on works of Natural 
History, never to depend on what they are accustomed to see, but 
in all cases to copy faithfully what they have under their eyes; 
otherwise, taking for granted what they ought not, they will 
inevitably fall into these gross errors. Even the accurate Wilson 
himself, or rather perhaps his engraver, has committed the same 
error in representing the feet of the Swallow-tailed Hawk. Of 
what consequence, will it perhaps be said, is the form of the 
scales covering the foot of a Hawk? But these afford precisely 
one of the best representative characters of groups, and it will, 
therefore, not be thought unnecessary to caution artists in this, 
and similar cases. 
The young, as described by Temminck, is in a more advanced 
stage of plumage; the front, forepart of the neck, thighs, flanks, 
and under tail-coverts are pure white; the breast and belly are of 
the same colour, but are marked with reddish spots, and brown 
lines; the occiput, nucha, back, and scapulars are brownish, mixed 
with whitish, and more or less tinged with cinereous; all these 
feathers having wide margins of whitish and reddish; the upper 
tail-coverts are black, with reddish margins; the inferior marbled 
with black and white; the quills are bluish, terminated with white; 
the tail is of a grayish-white, with black shafts; all the feathers have 
dark cinereous towards the point, and are tipped with white. 
