ANECDOTE OF A FALCON. 23 



rabbits ; and occasionally he falls upon a young gull — that is, during his visits 

 to the coast. 



He flies swiftly, and does not often balance himself in the air as the 

 eagle does, for his wings are shorter. When he sees his prey he pounces upon 

 it in a slanting direction. He is a silent bird, except when he has a family to 

 care for, and that makes him anxious and excited, and he utters now and then 

 a clear shrill cry. 



He is extremely daring when he is hungry, as you may think from a 

 little anecdote I can tell you. 



One day a sportsman on the moors saw a falcon hovering over a grouse, 

 and following it about. By-and-by he dropped down upon it, and when the 

 sportsman came up with his dogs, the falcon was devouring his prey. His 

 partner was close by, feeding on another grouse. Of course, the birds were 

 obliged to rise, but they did so very unwillingly, and barely kept out of thie 

 way of the dogs. Meanwhile, the dogs started several grouse, and the falcons 

 must have thought it was done for their special benefit. They pounced on 

 them every one, and struck them down under the eyes of the sportsman, and 

 as if in defiance of him. 



The nest of the falcon is on the face of a cliff, and, as a rule, beyond the 

 reach of man. It is very large, and is made of sticks mixed with the stems 

 of grasses. There are three or four eggs in the nest, of a dull red colour, 

 with dark spots. The young falcons are supplied with abundance of food. 

 The parent birds can bring them pheasants and pigeons and plovers, and all 

 the delicacies of the season. 



In the islands of Shetland the peregrine falcon chooses the most rocky 

 and desolate spots. He and his partner make their nest on the face of very 

 high cliffs. No other falcon seems inclined to live in the same clifT, for the 

 birds are not social. But the different kinds of gulls and sea-birds crowd the 

 clifT, and build their nests in every ledge. 



The falcon does not regret this arrangement in the least. He con- 

 siders a young gull to be a dainty morsel, and he is sure of getting a 

 great many. He waits till the old birds are out of the way, and then 

 drops suddenly down on the nest, and carries off the little gull he has been 

 longing for. 



