Northern Observations of Inland Birds loi 



was taken by the keeper to have his wish gratified. One 

 can imagine the surprise of both of them when, on arriving 

 at the place, they discovered that not only the chick but 

 both parent birds had completely vanished, nor were 

 they ever seen again in those parts ! 



No strangers could have disturbed the nest without 

 their presence having been noticed by the shepherds or 

 someone, for the crag was at the end of a long and 

 strictly preserved glen, and there was really no way over 

 the heights. The keeper could cast no light upon the 

 mystery, and it was not reasonable to conclude that the 

 chick had been taken and both birds destroyed — the only 

 explanation for their complete absence. The keeper was 

 very strongly of the opinion that the parent birds, dis- 

 turbed by his first visit, had taken a page from the book 

 of the mountain fox and carried their young away, and 

 having due regard for all the facts and conditions, too 

 numerous to detail here, one felt compelled to accept 

 his belief. 



I believe that peregrines hunt very largely by their 

 hearing as well as by their sight, for in some parts of the 

 world they are known to accompany the night flights of 

 migrating birds. Here is another example. Recently I 

 was out with the keepers in pursuit of mountain foxes, 

 and passing under a high crag the stalker who was present 

 pointed upwards to a shelf which, he told me, was a 

 peregrine's watch tower. It was not sufficiently clear for 

 us to see the bird, and just at that moment a bHnding 

 snowstorm came down. We therefore seated ourselves 

 under a boulder to rest the terriers and to eat our sand- 

 wiches ere we made the final cHmb. 



While there we heard the rattle-like croak of a ptarmigan 

 coming down the corrie, and the bird flew directly over 

 our heads, lost in an instant through the blinding storm. 

 It was travelling at great speed down wind, and we just 



