PEREGRINE FALCON. 335 



ling earthward, headless or with back ripped open, amidst a 

 cloud ot feathers. Immediately after giving the fatal blow with 

 the hind claw the destroyer shoots upward, descending later to 

 enjoy its meal. The rush of a stooping Peregrine when heard 

 at close quarters is like the sound of a rocket. I have seen 

 a Peregrine stand on the grass close to a bunch of Wigeon 

 which were crouching under the bank, waiting for them to rise 

 and give it an opportunity, but the same tactics are not always 

 employed, nor is the meal invariably secured. A homing 

 Pigeon, crossing the Dee estuary, was persistently chased, but 

 by smart turns and repeated sudden drops almost to the marsh 

 it succeeded in outwitting the much quicker bird ; on another 

 occasion a small wader about the size of a Sanderling eluded 

 every stoop by similar drops, and would have escaped had not 

 the Peregrine suddenly changed its methods, and, following 

 every turn and twist of its quarrj', fairly out-flew it and caught 

 it with its foot. The Peregrine will visit the rearing-field, and 

 sknnming low pick up young Pheasants from the ground. 



No nest is made; the two to four richly coloured orange-red 

 or deep brown eggs (Plate 158) are placed in a rough hollow 

 scraped on some ledge of a steep crag or cliff. They are 

 usually laid in April, and though normally single brooded, the 

 bird will lay again if the first eggs are destroyed ; I have 

 known young still in the nest in October. Both sexes sit, but 

 the falcon is far fiercer and noisier in defence of the nest than 

 her mate. Until the downy white young are fledged they are 

 fed upon plucked and usually headless food. When very 

 young they lie prone and motionless as long as watched, but 

 when the new feathers are appearing, they scramble about 

 restlessly on the ledge, with a cheeping food call. 



The adult male has the upper parts slate-grey with dark 

 bars, the crown and cheeks very dark, and the black moustachial 

 patch conspicuous. The under parts are huffish white, deepest 

 on the breast, and are barred with black, the amount varying 



