334 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



closed shoot seaward, recovering itself near the water and 

 after a low flight above the waves mount once more. Tiercel 

 and falcon, as the male and female are called, join in aerial 

 gambols, sporting together as one or the other playfully mounts 

 and stoops at its consort. The " stoop " of the Peregrine is 

 its swoop or downward rush with almost closed wings, seen 

 to best advantage when hunting. An aerial tight between two 

 tiercels is a sight to be remembered ; the stoops and dodges 

 are no play then ; the birds rise to a great height, each 

 striving to get above the other to gain advantage for the stoop, 

 which is avoided often by a sudden upward rush of the lower 

 bird, accompanied by a scream of rage or fear. In one such 

 fight neither bird succeeded in striking, but the turns, twists 

 and ruses to avoid impact by the one which happened to be 

 below were wonderful to watch. The usual cry of the Peregrine 

 when its eyrie is approached is a sharp, quickly repeated hech 

 or hek; that of the tiercel is a distinct hak^ hak, hak, but in 

 the falcon it is quicker and runs into a fierce chattering scream, 

 hek, hek, ek-ek-ek. 



Near the eyrie the birds have look-outs, some jutting rocks 

 or pinnacles on the cliff face. Here a bird will perch for 

 hours, with head sunk into its shoulders, and its breast turned 

 outward, showing white against dark rocks, but hardly visible 

 on the chalk cliffs of the south coast. Occasionally the head, 

 set off by the black moustachial streaks, is turned sharply to 

 watch the flight of some passing gull or wader. On the cliff- 

 top, near the eyrie, are the shambles, scattered litter of blood- 

 stained feathers and the rejected remnants of many a victim. 

 The Peregrine will kill birds large or small — ducks, gulls, 

 Curlew and even small waders ; it will kill and eat Daws and 

 Rooks, Grouse, Partridge and Pigeon ; indeed it is specially 

 fond of the Stock-Dove and domestic Pigeon, stopping the 

 homing of many a homer. As a rule the quarry is killed in 

 flight, struck down by the " bolt from the blue " and sent hurt- 



