and the bases of the toes, are reticulated. Part of the first phalanges, and all the other joints
of the toes, are scutellated above. The middle toe is the longest; the lateral toes are next to
it in length; and the hind toe is the shortest, but has the largest claw. The middle and outer
toes are connected by a short membrane. The claws are strong, sharp, and much curved.
Inches.
Length from the tip of the hill to the end
of the tail . . . . . 1 , 4 .
,, of the bill, measured on the ridge 1
,, ,, from the angle of the'
mouth _ . . . . . 1
Dimensions
Of the male.-
Lines. Length of the bi1 ll frro m the an' terio'r margti nIn ches.
0 of the orbit to its tip . . • - 1
0 : „ ‘ of the tarsus . . • 1
,, of the middle toe . . . 2
„ of the middle claw . . . 0
An old female, from the same locality, has the dorsal aspect more dull, and a buff-coloured
breast, with some central dark streaks on the feathers. It is larger than the male.
Dimensions
Of the female.
Length (total) . . . 18 0 Length of the middle toe . , • 2 2
„ of the tarsus . . . . 2 4 „ of the middle daw . . . 0 7
An immature bird, also from the same locality, has the feathers on the dorsal aspect narrowly
bordered with a dull rust-colour, which, on the head, prevails over the blackish-brown.
The tail is of a deep hair-brown, and is tipped with white, the outer webs being marked with
seven round spots, and the inner ones with as many bars of a pale reddish-brown colour:
there are no spots on the exterior web of the outer feather. The inner coverts of the wings, and
under surface of the tail, are transversely barred with buff-colour. The whole ventral aspect
is white, with a large oblong liver-brown mark in the centre of each feather. There are fewer
spots on the throat, and more on the flanks, than elsewhere; but they are nearly of equal size
on these parts and on the belly and thighs.
Dimensions
Of the young bird.
Length (total) . . . . . 17 6 Length of the middle toe . . . 2 3
„ of the tarsus . . . . 1 9 „ of the middle claw . . . 0 9
[8.] 2. F alco I slandicus. (Latham.) The Jerfalcon.
Ge n u s . Falco. L in n . A u Ct o r u m . _ Ash-coloured Buzzard. (Buteo cinereus.) E dw a rds, pi. 53. Young, from Hudson’s Bay.
Falco fuscus. F a b r ic iu s . Faun. Grcenl., p. 56. Young.
Falco sacer. F o r s t e r . Phil. Trans., lxii., p. 383 and 423. Young, from Hudson’s Bay.
Collared Falcon. P e n n . Arct. Zool., ii., p. 222, sp. G. Mature.
Gyrfalcon. I d e m , ii., p. 221, sp. F. Immature. Brit. Zool., t. xix.
Iceland Falcon. I d e m . Arct. Zool., id., p. 216, sp. D. Immature.
Sacre Falcon. I d e m , ii., p. 202, sp. 96. Immature.
Dusky Falcon. I d e m , ii., p.,220. E. Immature.
Falco Islandicus. La t h . Ind., p. 32, sp. 39. Mature.
Falco rusticolus. I d e m , p. 28, sp. 60. Mature.
Falco Gyrfalco. I d e m , p. 32, sp. 68. Immature.
Falco sacer. I d e m , p. 34, sp. 75. Immature.
Falco lagopus 0. I d e m , p. 19, sp. 32 0. Yearling.
Falco obscurus.- I d em , p. 44, sp. 105. Immature.
Falco Islandicus. T em m in c k , i., p. 17- Sa b in e , Lin. Tr., xii., p. 528.
Hierofalco candicans. Cu v ie r , Reg. An., i., p. 323.
Falco Islandicus. Selby. Brit. Om., i., p. 35, pi. 14.
Peepooneeshew, ( Winter bird.) Cr e e I n d ia n s .
This very handsome Falcon differs from the Peregrine, in having a longer
tail, shorter and stronger tarsi and toes, and somewhat less pointed wings; but it
is in all respects a true Falcon, and one of the most courageous, though Baron
Cuvier has considered it as the typical species of his sub-genus Hierofalco. The
want of a tooth on the upper mandible, which he gives as the principal character
of the sub-genus, seems to be merely an occasional variety; for many specimens,
both European and North American, are preserved in the Hudson’s Bay, British,
and other Museums in London, which have as large and acute a tooth as the Peregrine,
although it is generally a little nearer the point of the bill than in the latter
bird. Indeed, the hill of the Jerfalcon differs from that of the Peregrine, not in the
want of a tooth, hut in the presence of a perceptible obtuse lobe near the middle
of the mandible ; whilst in the Peregrine there is only a very slight indication of
such a lobe. There is a solitary specimen of a Jerfalcon in the British Museum,
whose bill is destitute of a tooth, agreeing perfectly with Buffon’s figure and
Cuvier’s description ; but, in all other respects, that specimen has the same form
and stature as those whose bills are toothed.
The Jerfalcon is a constant resident in the Hudson’s Bay territories, where it is
known by the name of the " Speckled Partridge Hawk,” or by that of the
‘f Winterer.” It is not enumerated by Wilson or Buonaparte amongst the birds
of the United States, and I am unable to state the exact southern limit of its