PEREGRINE FALCON. 301 



sort of food appears to be less palatable to it than to Eagles 

 and Buzzards. Although not addicted to committing depre- 

 dations among domestic poultry, it sometimes manifests little 

 regard for the proximity of man, and has been known to snatch 

 a wounded bird from before the sportsman. For the most 

 part it is solitary and silent, pursuing its avocations as if little 

 disposed to pay attention to any thing else ; but sometimes a 

 pair hunt together, and in the breeding season it is rather cla- 

 morous in its rocky haunts, emitting a loud, clear, and shrill 

 cry, like that of the Kestrel. It has few enemies besides man, 

 for none of our native birds seem capable of injuring it, and it 

 is so bold as sometimes to attack the Eagle, should he approach 

 its domain. AVith its rapid and gliding flight, it forms a less 

 conspicuous object than the Buzzard, which, as it floats slowly 

 along, presents a more interesting feature in the wild scenery 

 of our hilly ranges. 



Under ordinary circumstances it is shy and vigilant, so that 

 one seldom finds an opportunity of shooting it ; but at its 

 breeding place it is in general easily approached, as the female 

 is not readily put from the nest, and the male flies around, 

 uttering loud screams. No instance is recorded of its breeding 

 in trees, the nest being always placed on the face of a maritime 

 cliff or inland precipice, generally beyond the reach of man, 

 unless with the aid of a rope. It is bulky, and composed of 

 sticks and herbaceous plants, varied according to the locality. 

 Thus, in the Bass Rock, it is formed solely of grass and other 

 soft materials, there being no ligneous plants there. The eggs, 

 three or four in number, are of a broadly elliptical form, two 

 inches or a little more in length, and about an inch and seven 

 twelfths in breadth, dull light red, dotted and patched with 

 darker red. The young, which are at first covered with white 

 down, are abundantly supplied with food. So great is the 

 strength of this bird that, according to the keeper of the Bass 

 Rock, it has been knowm to carry to its nest there at one time 

 a male Black Grouse, and at another a I'heasant. Auks, 

 Guillemots, Kittiwakes, various sea birds, Plovers, Pigeons, 

 and Brown Ptarmigans, are the food usually brought to the 

 young in that place. 



