344 ICELAND FALCON. 



My-vatn, whence the late W. Proctor of Durham used to receive 

 eggs and a few skins almost every year, after he had visited that 

 locality. In Greenland, south of the Arctic circle, there is a 

 representative form which is known as F. holboelli ; this is w^hiter 

 than the typical Icelander, though darker than the Greenlander, 

 and has some bars on the flanks, while there is a little yellow at the 

 base of the bill. Either this, or else the true Icelander, occurs on 

 Jan Mayen Island, as well as the Greenland Falcon. Labrador is 

 inhabited by F. obsoletus of American systematists, a very dark 

 greyish-brown bird, easily recognizable. I cannot find any conclusive 

 evidence of the occurrence of the typical Icelander in Germany, 

 Holland, or France, but the species has been taken in Norway. 



In Iceland the eggs, 3-4 in number, and similar in size and 

 appearance to those of the Greenland Falcon, are deposited on the 

 ledge of a cliff, or on the former abode of some other bird, 

 frequently a Raven. The food consists of water-fowl, waders, and 

 largely of Arctic species of Grouse (often called ' Ptarmigan '), 

 which are captured on the wing. 



The adult is represented by the front figure in the engraving ; 

 the prevailing colour of the upper parts being brownish-grey on a 

 creamy ground, while the under parts are of a purer white ; the bill 

 is bluish horn-colour, the legs and feet are yellowish. The young 

 bird (in the rear) is ashy-brown above, while the under parts are 

 marked with dark drop-shaped spots ; the feet are more inclined to 

 yellow than they are in the young Greenland Falcon. Length of 

 the female 23 in., wing 16 in. ; of the male 21 in., wing i4"5 in. 

 There is great individual variation, and some examples show a 

 greyish ground-colour which closely approaches that of the next 

 species. 



Among the Northern Falcons there is great individual variation, 

 from the nestling stage onward. The first moult usually begins in 

 April, when the bird is nearly a year old, and after that moult is 

 completed — as it should be by October— there will be no further 

 change in the pattern or character of the plumage. That is to say, 

 the bird which then exhibits numerous dark markings will reproduce 

 them at each successive moult to the end of its life, while a pale 

 bird will remain so. The intensity of the markings may perhaps 

 become fainter when the feathers are old and ready to be cast. 

 These remarks equally apply to the Peregrine Falcon. 



