DUCK HAWK 43 



FALCO PEREGKINUS ANATUM Bonaparte 



duck hawk 

 Plates 11-15 



HABITS 



This noble falcon is our representative of a world-wide species, 

 of which some 16 races have been recognized in various parts of the 

 world, including all the continents and most of the principal islands. 

 The best known of these races is the European form, F. p. peregrinus, 

 from which our bird differs in having a whiter throat and upper breast, 

 with little or no dark marking; our bird also has a wider moustacial 

 stripe and more black on the sides of the head. The European race 

 is on our Check-List as "casual in Greenland", but the best authorities 

 now refer all Greenland birds to anatum (see p. 42). 



I do not like the name duck hawk, as it suggests a close relationship 

 to the hen hawks and other ignoble hawks; neither do I like the old 

 name great-footed hawk, used by Audubon and some of the early- 

 writers ; this suggests clumsiness, a trait far removed from this graceful 

 and agile falcon. I should prefer to call it the American peregrine 

 falcon, but duck hawk seems to be the established name. 



This large falcon is widely distributed in North America, breeding 

 from beyond the tree limits in Arctic regions southward to some of the 

 more southern States; it is very rare on the central plains and is no- 

 where abundant, though its range extends from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific. It is an eventful day when one can see and admire the dashing 

 flight of this bold warrior. 



Joseph A. Hagar, Massachusetts State ornithologist, has been 

 very active for the past two years, 1935 and 1936, in protecting the 

 duck hawk in this State. He has visited repeatedly all the known 

 aeries in the State, some dozen or more, spent many full days in the 

 field each season, making as many as a dozen or more trips in a season 

 to a number of them, and made an intensive study of the habits of this 

 interesting falcon. He has taken voluminous notes and accumulated 

 many valuable data on the subject, all of which he has generously 

 placed at my disposal. He contributes the following interesting 

 account of the spring and courtship activities: 



Courtship. — "In Massachusetts adult duck hawks reoccupy the 

 breeding stations before the end of February, and since the first eggs 

 are not laid before March 25 or April 1, there is a long and interesting 

 courtship. So wonderful are the aerial evolutions of the peregrines 

 during this season that I am inclined to think that no observer can 

 fully appreciate their powers of flight who has not seen them at the 

 nesting site on a windy March day; every movement, no matter how 

 extended, is centered about the home cliff, so that its whole course 

 may be traced, which is not usually the case at other seasons and places. 



