Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/75

 FALCON 67 estine and to have belonged to the tribe of Levi. They are Jewish in their modes of life, though not in their appearance, and differ from their co-religionists in regarding commerce as incompatible with the Mosaic law. They cul- tivate the soil, and excel in various trades, es- pecially as architects. They are laborious and well behaved, but unable or unwilling to per- form military duty, from which they are con- sequently exempt. They are so rigid in the observance of the sabbath that they abstain even from dressing themselves on that day. They constituted in the higher regions of the country an independent tribe under the rule of their own kings and queens until the beginning of the 17th century, when they were driven from their mountain homes and compelled to reside among their enemies the Amharas. They live at present in the prov- inces of Dembea, Godjam, Quara, Tchelga, and Woggera ; and their villages are easily recog- nized by the red clay pots at the top of their synagogues. They have the Old Testament in the Geez language, and the apocryphal books which are accepted by the Abyssinian church. See articles by Joseph Halevy in the Bul- letin of the French geographical society, March and April, 1869.' FALCON, a bird of prey, belonging to the or- der raptores, family falconidm, subfamily fal- conina, and to the typical genus falco (Linn.). This subfamily contains the following genera, in addition to falco, of which about a dozen species are described: hypotriorchis (Boie), with as many species; ieracidea (Gould), with two species, found in Australia; tinnunculus (Vieill.), with a dozen species ; ierax (Vigors), with six species, in India and its islands ; and harpagus (Vigors), in South America, with a single species, characterized by having the lateral margin of the bill armed with two dis- tinct teeth on each side. The birds of these genera may all be called falcons, from the common characters of a short bill, much curved from the base to the tip, with its sides more or less furnished with serrations called teeth ; the cere covering the nostrils, which are rounded or linear ; the wings lengthened and pointed, the second and third quills generally the long- est ; the tail lengthened and rounded ; the toes long and slender, and claws curved and acute. The birds of the genus falco, which only will be treated in this article, are called noble birds of prey, because in proportion to their size they are the most courageous and powerful ; they are also more docile, and were formerly much used in the sport of falconry to pursue and kill game, returning to their masters when called. The pigeon hawk (H. columbarius), and the sparrow hawk (T. sparveriiis), though both falcons, will be described under these names. The falcons are found throughout the world, regardless of climate ; they are power- ful and rapid fliers, hovering over their prey and darting perpendicularly upon it ; they pursue birds chiefly, but attack also the smaller quadrupeds. The common or peregrine falcon (F. peregrinus, Linn.) has a large and round head, a short thin neck, a robust body broad in front, stout short tarsi, covered with imbri- cated scales largest in front, the tibial feathers covering the knee, long and strong toes and Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus). sharp claws. The plumage is compact and imbricated, the feathers rounded on the back, broad on the breast, long and pointed on the sides ; between the eye and bill and on the forehead they are bristly. The bill is blackish blue at the tip and pale green at the base, the iris hazel, the feet bright yellow, and the claws black. The head and hind neck in the adult male are grayish black tinged with blue, the rest of the upper parts dark bluish gray with indistinct dark brown bars; the quills dark brown, with transverse reddish white spots on the inner webs; the grayish brown tail has about 12 blackish bars, diminishing in breadth and intensity from the tip; the throat and front of neck white ; a broad triangular mark of blackish blue extends downward on the white of the cheeks from the corner of the mouth; the sides, breast, and thighs are red- dish white, with transverse dark brown spots ; the under wing feathers are whitish, with transverse darker bars. The length is about 16 in., the extent of wings 30, bill 1, tarsus 1, and middle toe 2. In old males the tints of the back become lighter, sometimes ash- gray ; the young males are darker, with rufous tips and edges to the feathers, and the tail is blacker, with reddish white tips and bars; there is considerable variety at the different ages in the birds of the United States and of Europe. Bonaparte calls the American bird F. anatum. The adult female, as in birds of prey generally, is nearly one third larger than the male, being about 20 in. in length, 36 in extent of wings, with the beak, tarsus, and toes longer; the color of the upper parts Js deeper brown, with the tips of the secondaries and tail whitish ; the transverse markings run higher up on the breast, and are broader and