FALCO. FALCON. 283 



tiles, and insects. They breed on rocks, in trees, or on the 

 ground, forming a bulky nest of sticks, twigs, and other^coarse 

 materials, and laying from three to six eggs, generally speckled 

 or spotted with red or brown. The young are covered with 

 thick white down. The difference in size between the male 

 and the female is very remarkable in this genus ; the sexes are 

 sometimes similar in colour, and sometimes different, in which 

 case the young resemble the female. The Falcons, on account 

 of their docility, and their superiority of flight and mode of 

 capturing their prey, were considered by falconers as " noble," 

 while the other hawks and the eagles, being less easily induced 

 to relinquish their natural habits, were termed " ignoble." 

 Being for the most part very destructive to game, they aro 

 much persecuted with us ; but in this respect they differ little 

 from their brethren, every hawk being considered by the game- 

 keeper as a malefactor. 



Six species occur in Britain : the Gyr Falcon, the Peregrine 

 Falcon, the Hobby, the Merlin, the Red-footed Falcon, and 

 the Kestrel. 



