242 Mr. J. Hancock on the 



scribe the two species in their various plumages. My atten- 

 tion was first drawn to the subject so far back as 1833 by two 

 specimens brought from Iceland by Mr. Geo. C. Atkinson as 

 the young of the Greenland or white species ; one of those is 

 now in my possession, and I am satisfied is a mature female 

 of the true Iceland bird. At the time I was convinced that 

 this was not an immature bird ; the cordated markings on the 

 breast and the transverse bars on the flanks were sufficient to 

 prove this fact, and it was impossible for a moment to sup- 

 pose that a bird so symmetrically and characteristically marked 

 should be a mere variety of the Greenland or white falcon. I 

 believed it to be a distinct species, and subsequent observa- 

 tions have confirmed me in this belief. I was afterwards for- 

 tunate enough, through the kindness of my friend Mr.Warham, 

 of the Lord Gambier whaler from this port, to possess a bird 

 from Davis' Straits, which is undoubtedly the young of the 

 white bird ; in fact it has already got a quill feather of the 

 mature dress. This individual has longitudinal dashes or 

 blotches on the under parts ; a character indicative of youth 

 in the Falconidce, and which in this instance is perfectly 

 analogous to the markings of the young of the peregrine 

 falcon, a species most nearly allied. Afterwards I became 

 possessed of another young bird which was shot in York- 

 shire, March 1837. This has also the longitudinal markings 

 on the under parts, and as might be expected, from the time 

 it was taken, has commenced to shed its feathers, and has al- 

 ready got several new ones on different parts of the body. The 

 fresh feathers are precisely similar to those of the bird from 

 Iceland which I considered to be mature. This then was cer- 

 tainly the young of the Iceland bird. It differs from the young 

 of the white bird in one striking particular, viz. that in having 

 the bars on the two middle feathers of the tail non-continuous, 

 or not opposing each other, whilst they are continuous in the 

 young of the latter. (PL X. figs. A. and F.) All that was now 

 wanting was to discriminate the sexes. I was enabled to do 

 this through the kindness of Mr. W. Proctor, Curator of the 

 Durham Museum, who visited Iceland last year for the pur- 

 pose of procuring birds, and the other natural productions of 

 that island. After the most indefatigable exertions he ob- 

 tained five individuals of the true Iceland falcon. He shot them 



