File:A history of the birds of Europe, not observed in the British Isles (1859) (14752906364).jpg

Identifier: historybirdsEurIVBree (find matches)
Title: A history of the birds of Europe, not observed in the British Isles
Year: 1859 (1850s)
Authors: Bree, Charles Robert, 1811-1886 Fawcett, Benjamin, 1808-1893, engraver
Subjects: Pictorial works Birds
Publisher: London : Groombridge and Sons ...
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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A.nisus. 1.—In the darker upper plumage. 2.—In thecloser barring of the under plumage. 3.—In the underwing coverts being lighter rufous, and less barred, andby the deep black unicolorous primaries beneath, thoseof A. nisus being barred to the end. 4.—By the twofirst under tail feathers being unicolorous grey, whilethose of 7iisus are strongly barred. 5.—By the primariesbeing black brown and unicolorous above, while thoseof nisus are lighter, and -distinctly barred. 6.—Thecheeks of the Levant Sparrow-Hawk are slight grey,while those of nisus are rufous. From the female of F. gurneyi that of A. nisusdiffers principally in the general character of the underplumage, which is rufous brown and white, not blackand white; the bars on the chest and body are broader,and on the thighs they become almost as rufous asthe bars on the male. From the yovmg of F. gurneyi those of A. nisusdiffer most markedly in the deep light brown bordersof the primaries and upper tail feathers, which are
Text Appearing After Image:
LEVANT SPARROW-HAWK.Young Male and Female. LEVANT SPAllROW-IIAWK. 189 absent in A. nisus, wliilo in the under plumnge tlielarge oblong longitudinal broAvn spots, and tlie russetbars on the thighs and under tail coverts at onceproclaim their distinctive characters. It is hardly necessary to say anything about thedistinction of this bird from M. badius, hracliydacUjlus,sphenurus, or polyzonoides, as it is altogether largerand different; and I shall point out some of thedistinctions between these birds in the next notice whentreating of M. hadius. The claim of F. gurneyi to a place in the Europeanavi-fauna rests at present on a single immature speci-men received by Mr. Gurney, from Athens, in theneighbourhood of which it was killed; but its similarityto A. nisus has no doubt been the reason of its havinsfhitherto been unobserved. INIy figures are the adult male and female, and theyoung male and female kindly sent me by Mr. Gurney,and drawn to a scale. The adult male has the upper plumage

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