ASTUR.
Size moderate; wing short and rounded; lower part of tarsus bare, covered with transverse oblong scales as in Buzzards. Swift, bold, and rapacious; ,nest un trees; eggs pale bluish or greenish white, markings ill-defined or none.
Astur gentilis gentilis (L.). GosnAwK. Fr. Autour ; Ger. Hiihnerhabicht ; Pa/. Astore ; Squeal. Dufhok.
d ? Above grey brown, ear coverts brown ; beneath white barred brown, tail indistinctly barred. Bill bluish horn. Cere greenish yellow. Legs and feet yellow. Iris orange yellow.
Wing 310-335, ? 350-383. Tarsus 8 70, 73-80. Bill 6 20-22, 25-28. Immature plumage : underparts with long oval brown drop-like spots, tail distinctly barred. Young : first plumage above browner, rufous on hind neck and under parts.
Resident.—Continental Europe from forest limit to Mediter ranean, Sicily, N. Morocco, and Algeria ; also Asia Minor. Rare visitor to Britain, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Egypt, and Tunisia.
The Central and S. European birds have been separated as "A. g. gallinarum" Brehm on account of young being lighter
coloured than those from typical region (Scandinavia).
A. gentilis arrigonii Kleinschmidt. Smaller, darker above, ear coverts black, bars on underparts much darker. \Ving 297-306, (H.).
Resident.—Corsica and Sardinia.
A. gentilis schvedowi Menzbier. Above greyer, less brown ; beneath bars much narrower. Wing d 290-333, ? up to 360 (H.).
A North Asian race, whose range extends to and Lower Volga.
A. gentilis albidus Menzbier. A pure white form with faint bars, streaks or mottling of pale grey brown according to sex or age.
Freeds.—Siberia, but occurs west to Archangel and N. Caucasus.
A North American race ; is said to have occurred Ireland and Scotland.