290 FALCO GYRFALCO. 



The eggs are said to be similar to those of the Peregrine 

 Falcon, but larger. It does not appear, however, that there is 

 much certainty on this subject. 



Young. — The skin of a young bird fully fledged, from Green- 

 land, in my collection, may be described as follows. The bill 

 is similar in form to that of the adult, but with the festoon of 

 the upper mandible very slight ; its colour pale blue, the base 

 of the lower mandible yellowish, the tip of the upper bluish- 

 black ; the cere greenish-blue. The tarsi and toes are greyish- 

 blue, the soles yellowish ; the claws black. The general colour 

 of the plumage on the upper parts is brownish-grey. On the 

 forehead the slender feathers are edged with yellowish-white ; 

 on the upper part of the head and the hind-neck, all the feathers 

 have a large oblong yellowish-white space on the inner web to- 

 ward the end. These white markings are larger and more 

 conspicuous on the hind-neck, most of the feathers on which 

 have also a patch on the inner web toward the base. On the 

 rest of the upper parts the feathers are narrowly margined with 

 paler ; the anterior dorsal feathers and small wing-coverts with 

 two small marginal subterminal yellowish-white spots ; the 

 middle and posterior dorsal feathers similarly marked ; and the 

 upper tail-coverts with the spots approaching in form to bars. 

 The first primary has twelve slight marginal spots on the outer 

 web, and on the inner fifteen transverse indentations which do 

 not reach the shaft ; the inner webs of all the other quills 

 barred in the same manner, but the outer without markings. 

 The tail is also barred, there being on the two middle feathers 

 twelve, on the lateral fifteen bars, or series of transverse nar- 

 row spots, on both webs, which, although opposite to each 

 other on the middle feathers, do not meet or run into the shaft, 

 and toward the lateral become more oblique, and sometimes 

 are not opposite ; the tips white, or formed of two confluent 

 spots of that colour. The lower parts are yellowish- white, 

 longitudinally marked with linear-oblong brownish grey bands ; 

 the long feathers on the sides and legs, and the axillars, with 

 the dark part larger, and the inner web with one or more light 

 patches or spots, A small part of the throat without spots, 



