an- te o Re-demptor om ni um, Quem lu- cis THE preceding illustrations are not facsimiles, but they are given in the notation used for Gregorian music at the present time, in order that they may be more generally understood. The adaptation of the syllables to the musical text has not been altered from the originals, and this will account for some of the short syllables in the two Antiphons being overcharged with notes, as was frequently the case at the period when the prosody of the Latin language came to be neglected. The two clefs used are the Do clef and the Fa clef the line through the former indicating the position of the note C, and the latter of the note F. The Long always bears an accent, and the other notes which require special emphasis in a greater or less degree are marked with the accent (▲) over them. The Breve (), which is the note most commonly used, must not be supposed to possess always one uniform length. In music purely syllabic it is governed by the accent of the poetry, or the words; but its musical accent depends upon the character of the phrase in which it is used; and in the more elaborate passages it requires to be executed with greater rapidity than in those which consist of a few notes only. The Semibreve when used singly is invariably short, but when found in a series, especially in cadences, it often requires a retarded movement. A musical ear will very soon detect and adjust the rhythm of each successive phrase, but it is extremely difficult to describe in writing the various modifications to which each is liable; and Guido d'Arezzo himself was quite sensible of this when, in treating of the same subject in the eleventh century, he used these words, "Sed hæc et hujusmodi melius colloquendo quam conscribendo monstrantur."-Micrologus, c. 15. ! 337 On the Ornithology of Wilts. No. 6.-FALCONIDE. (Falcons.) "So when a Falcon skims the airy way, P. WHITEHEAD. The Gymnasiad, book 3. My previous papers on the Ornithology of Wilts having treated of the general structure and the classification of birds, and the particular characteristics of the various orders and tribes, with especial reference to the beaks and feet, which generally point out with sufficient clearness their habits and consequent position, I come now without further preface to describe in order the families into which those orders and tribes are subdivided, and to give some short account of each individual species, which, as a resident, a periodical or an occasional visitant in our county, has come under my observation.1 I have already shewn that the first order, "Birds of Prey," consists of three families, the Vultures, Falcons, and Owls: of the first of these no member has ever occurred in this county, and indeed it is only from the very rare occurrence of a straggler or two on our shores, probably driven out of their course by strong and adverse winds, that the Vultures have of late obtained a place amongst British birds: their habits bespeak them as denizens of tropical climates, for their food consists of carrion and putrid substances, and very useful as scavengers do they prove in their native countries, and very wisely are they protected as such by the inhabitants; for as the storks in Holland, and the dogs in Constantinople and 1 A reference to the table of classification in vol. I., facing page 114, will show the order in which these families come. the East, so in Egypt and South America the Vultures arriving in vast numbers from all parts of the heavens, may be seen clearing away the offal and garbage, to which they are in some mysterious manner attracted, and which would otherwise poison the atmosphere. The second family, 'Falconidæ,' embraces the Eagles, Falcons, Buzzards, Harriers and Hawks, of all descriptions. In common with all other birds of prey, (and in this again they resemble the carnivorous quadrupeds,) they are monogamous or live in pairs; they seldom drink, but during the heat of summer delight to wash themselves: they usually swallow part of the fur and feathers of their victims with their food, but this and all other indigestible parts, as bones &c., they afterwards disgorge in large pellets, or castings by the mouth, and they will often skin animals and pluck birds with the greatest dexterity. In the whole family of Falcons there is a very remarkable difference in size between the male and female, the latter being (contrary to what we see in other kinds) by far the largest and strongest; and from the fact of the male being usually a third less in size than its mate, it always received the name of Tiercelet or Tiercel, as a Tiercel Peregrine, a Tiercelet Sparrowhawk, meaning the males of those species. They are divided into the long-winged or 'noble,' and the short-winged or ‘ignoble,' as they were respectively denominated in the good old days of hawking: the long-winged, or true Falcons, were those most highly prized, and most frequently reclaimed; and there are a few plain points of difference by which they may be easily distinguished from their more ignoble brethren. Thus, in the beak of the true Falcon we shall find a prominent tooth in the upper mandible, and a corresponding notch in the lower one; while in the short-winged genera we shall see instead of the notch a small festoon, or marginal lobe, as it is styled. Again, in the true Falcons, the iris, or coloured circle surrounding the pupil of the eye, will be always seen to be dark; while in the ignoble birds the irides are universally 1 Shakspeare uses the word, corrupted into Tassel, in the famous balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet : "O, for a falconer's voice, To lure this tassel-gentle back again!"—Act ii. scene 2. |