98 F A L C O N .
84.
AMERICAN
BROWN
HAWK.
Falco fufcus, y. Fr, Miller> t. iS.
Lev. Muf.
D escrip t ion. TN the Leverian Mufeum. is a fine pair of thefe bi rds f rom
which the following defcription is taken.
M ale* The fize and fhape of our Sparrow Hawk. The bill of a
pale lead-colour : cere dufky: the body above, is of a cinereous
brown, with a trifle of white on the fcapulars : top and Tides of
the head ftreaked with narrow longitudinal ftripes of white : ber
hind the eye is. a ftreak of a pale colour: the under parts are
white : the chin plain : the fore part of the neck, the breaft, and
belly, marked with reddifh brown ftreaks down the fhaft of each
feather: thighs dirty white ; down the middle of each feather is .
a brown ftreak : tail cinereous brown, crofted with three bars, of
F emale.
dark brown;, the end very pale.
Another along with this, fuppofed to be the female, is,
marked much the fame, but the longitudinal ftripes on the under
parts are more numerous; befides which, are fome tranfverfe
bars of light brownthe legs in both are flender, like the Sparrow
Hawk,.and of a yellow colour: the claws alfo are like that bird,,
and black.
The bird figured by Mr. Miller, above quoted, fcarcely differs
in the markings. The iris in his plate is white, or very pale;.
but the claws feem to be remarkably thick and fhort, fuch as I
never faw in any Hawk. Whether they were fo in the fpecimen
from which he took his drawing, or any miftake in the engraving,
I cannot determine.
Falco nifus, Lin. Syß. i. p. 13°« N° 31.
i_----- . Scop. Ann. i. p. 17.
L’Epervier, Brif orn. i. p. 310. N° 4*
— ---- — Buß oif. i. p. 225. t. 11.
----------Pi. enl. 412, 466, 467.
Sperber, Frifcb. t. 90. male. 91. ßmale. 92. variety*
Accipiter fringillarius, Bait Syn. p. 18. N° A. 2.
Sparrow Hawk, Will, orn. p. 86*'
.— 1. ■— — Br. Zool. N° 62.
Lev. Muß Br. Muß.
CCARCE any birds of the fame fpecies differ mote in fize than
_ the male from the female in this. The firft weighs five ounces,
and is twelve inches in length; the female is nine ounces in
weight, and is in length, fifteen inches *.
The female has the head, hind part of the neck, back, rump,
wing-coverts, fcapulars, and upper tail-coverts, brown; the edges
of the feathers rufous : on the hind head are fome whitifh fpots :
the under parts are white, or inclining to yellowifh, with rufous
brown waves; each feather being of that colour near the end,
tending to a point downwards : the chin fparingly ftreaked with
petpefidicular lines of brown : quills dufky, barred with black-
■ ifh on the outer, and fpotted with white on the lower part of the
inner webs: tail barred with very dark brown; the tip white,
legs yellow : claws black.
The male differs a little, in having the tranfverfe lines on the
i a I c o n r im f ' u n f l
* The following defcription is from birds in my own pofleffion, but they are
apt to vary much in the fhade as well as difpohtion of their colours.
O a
Ä
* . SPARROW-
HAWK.
D escription,
F emale,
Male,
darker