nd which was white all
but a few spots of clove-brown upon its back. "This is a hawk, as you
may tell, by its appearance, or rather I should say a `falcon,' for you
must know there is a difference."

"What difference?" demanded Francois, with some eagerness of manner.

"Why the principal difference is the formation of their beaks or bills.
The bills of the true falcons are stronger, and have a notch in the
lower mandible answering to a tooth in the upper one. Their nostrils,
too, are differently formed. But another point of distinction is found
in their habits. Both feed on warm-blooded animals, and neither will
eat carrion. In this respect the hawks and falcons are alike. Both
take their prey upon the wing; but herein lies the difference. The
hawks capture it by skimming along horizontally or obliquely, and
picking it up as they pass; whereas the true falcons `pounce' down upon
it from above, and in a line nearly vertical."

"Then this must be a true falcon," interrupted Francois, "for I saw the
gentleman do that very thing; and beautifully he did it, too."

"It is a falcon," continued Lucien; "and of the many species of hawks
which inhabit North America--over twenty in all--it is one of the
boldest and handsomest. I don't wonder you never saw it before; for it
is truly a bird of the Northern regions, and does not come so far south
as the territory of the United States, much less into Louisiana. It is
found in North Europe, Greenland, and Iceland, and has been seen as far
north on both continents as human beings have travelled. It is known by
the name of `jerfalcon,' or `gyrfalcon,' but its zoological name is
_Falco Islandicus_."

"The Indians here," interposed Norman, "call it by a name that means
`winter bird,' or `winterer'--I suppose, because it is one of the few
that stay in these parts all the year round, and is therefore often
noticed by them in winter time. The traders sometimes call it the
`speckled partridge-hawk,' for there are some of them more spotted than
this one is."

"True," said Lucien; "the young ones are nearly of a brown colour, and
they first become spotted or mottled after a year or two. They are
several years old before they get the white plumage, and very few
individuals are seen of a pure white all over, though there are some
without a spot.

"Yes," continued the naturalist, "it is the jerfalcon; and those other
birds which you call `white partridges,' are the _very_ creatu