﻿206 PEREGRINE FALCON. July, 



stone pebbles, alternating with sand and coarser 

 rolled pieces of limestone. This seemed to be a 

 tertiary deposit formed out of the subjacent beds, 

 but not by the river flowing at its present level. 



In the course of the day's voyage we noticed a 

 peregrine falcon's nest, placed on the cliff* of a 

 sandstone rock. This falcon is not rare throutrhout 

 the Mackenzie, where it preys on the passenger 

 pigeons and smaller birds. Mr. M'Pherson re- 

 lated to me one of its feats, which he witnessed some 

 years previously as he was ascending the river. A 

 white owl {Stryx nyctea), in flying over a cliff', seized 

 and carried off^ an unfledged peregrine in its claws, 

 and, crossing to the opposite beach, lighted to devour 

 it. The parent bird followed, screaming loudly, and, 

 stooping v.'ith extreme rapidity, killed the owl by a 

 single blow, after which it flew quickly back to its 

 nest. On coming to the spot, Mr. M'Pherson 

 picked up the owl, but, though he examined it nar- 

 rowly, he could not detect in what part the death- 

 blow had been received ; nor could he, from the 

 distance, perceive whether the peregrine struck it 

 with wing or claws. 



July 27th. — Embarking at 3 this morning, we 

 continued our voyage down the river, and for up- 

 wards of twenty miles pursued a course nearly 

 parallel to the spur which the Mackenzie crosses 

 at the influx of Great Bear River. In latitude 



