PRAIRIE FALCON 29 



caliber and the intent of the victim; and the final plunge has, therefore, the speed 

 and accuracy of fate. In case of larger game the quarry is knocked headlong by 

 a crashing blow, after which the assailant turns to try conclusions as to weight. 

 But the Falcon prefers always to snatch, and when small game is abundant, the 

 bird is less likely to disturb rabbits or poultry. 



* * * While his visits to the poultry yard are by no means rare, and his 

 offenses, judged from this narrow human angle, are serious, we shall not stop to 

 plead the thousands of destructive squirrels which this bird accounts for. 



Henninger and Jones (1909) say: "They seem to prefer bird flesh, 

 but during a scarcity of such diet may be driven to any of the smaller 

 animals." On the other hand, Decker and Bowles (1930) say that 

 during the nesting season young rabbits are preferred, probably 

 because of abundance; but stomach examination indicates change of 

 diet in winter. Mr. Ridgway (1877) says: "Late in November, of 

 the same year [1867], it was noticed again among the marshes along 

 the Carson River, near Genoa, where it was observed to watch and 

 follow the Marsh Hawks {Circus hudsonius), compelling them to 

 give up their game, which was caught by the Falcon before it reached 

 the ground; this piracy being not an occasional, but a systematic 

 habit." But Cameron (1907) says that a golden eagle in Montana 

 seemed to play a somewhat similar trick on a prairie falcon: "On 

 September 21, 1904, at our ranch in Dawson County, my wife and I 

 watched a Prairie Falcon in the act of carrying off a Meadowlark 

 which was screaming and struggling in its talons. As the falcon rose 

 level with the lull- tops, a Golden Eagle sailed majestically over in 

 close proximity to it, thereby appearing to fluster the other which 

 allowed its victim to escape." 



In the Yellowstone National Park I once saw a prairie falcon make 

 several swoops at a flock of 44 Brewer's blackbirds, although on that 

 occasion they all escaped into the thick foliage of some big pines. 

 Ellsworth D. Lumley writes me in a letter: "On November 16, 1932, 

 I witnessed a prairie falcon eating an English sparrow in this city 

 [Great Falls]. Another falcon sat in a nearby tree and gave its pierc- 

 ing cry." But Lumley also writes that on October 18, 1932, a falcon 

 stomach was found to contain a pellet of hair and some small bones, 

 indicating rodent diet. Goss (1891) says that he saw a prairie falcon 

 "dart from a telegraph pole into a flock of chesnut-collared Longspurs, 

 and knock down four of the birds at a single dash, killing three and 

 winging the other." Fuertes (1920) adds "jays" to the list of falcon 

 prey. Mrs. Bailey (1928) writes that the prairie falcons were "about 

 the alfalfa fields at Carlsbad [N. Mex.] in September, apparently look- 

 ing for game among the flocks of waders that followed the irrigation 

 of the fields. When the waders were quietly feeding, the appearance 

 of this dark, short-necked hunter would send a big flock of the silvery 

 birds into the sky, or if he dashed in among them, would put them to 

 disorderly flight." Mrs. Bailey, quoting Dr. Wetmore, also says that 



