104 FAUNA AND FLORA OF PALESTINE. 



GENUS, FALCO. 



215. Falco peregrimis. Tunstall. Ornith. Britann. p. i. Peregrine. 

 Arab, ^il ^, Tir cl Jior, i.e., 'The noble bird.' 



It is very interesting to observe the clearly defined geographical 

 ranges of the different Falcons in Palestine, which they would appear 

 never to transgress. The Peregrine, nowhere numerous, occurs at all 

 times of the year, in all suitable localities near the coast, and on the 

 western slopes of the watershed of Central Palestine. To the eastward 

 of the crest we never observed it. It extends from the Lebanon to the 

 olive-groves of Gaza. During winter I noticed it as far inland as 

 Nazareth, and in March I obtained it in a garden at Jaffa, where it was 

 evidently incubating. Inland it is replaced by the next species. 



There seems to be no Hebrew word specially to denote the Falcon, 

 while each species has its distinct Arabic name. This is easily explained 

 by the fact that the Bedawin Arabs, who are keen falconers, and take 

 great pains in training their Falcons, are well aware of the comparative 

 merits and powers of the different species. But though regarded as 

 valuable for the chase, the tame Falcons are far too sparingly scattered to 

 claim a distinct notice in the catalogue of unclean birds in Leviticus. 



The Peregrine is almost a cosmopolitan bird. It has been obtained 

 in Greenland, and ranges over the whole Old World from the polar circle 

 to the Cape of Good Hope, Java, and Sumatra, and through the New 

 World from Hudson's Bay to the La Plata. Australia, the Pacific Islands, 

 and the southern extremity of America, are inhabited by species barely 

 separable from the Common Peregrine. 



216. Falco ianariiis. Schl. Rev. Crit, p. 2. Falco fildeggi. Schl. 

 Abh. Geb. Zool. iii., p. 3. The Lanner. Arab. ^\m yu^, Sakkr 

 Shaheen. 



This is by far the most common of the large Falcons in Palestine, 

 universally distributed throughout the rocky Wadys on both sides of the 

 Jordan and the Dead Sea, and as far north as the foot of Hermon, being 

 a permanent resident. No region is too desolate or dreary for it. It 

 resorts to the most arid salt wastes south of the Dead Sea, and breeds in 



