T96 Lloyd's natural history. 



Characters, — The Iceland Gyr-Falcon is one of four or more 

 races of the genws Hierofalco, which are distinguished from the 

 Greenland Gyr-Falcon by having a blue bill and barred flaiiks. 

 Four distinct races of Grey Gyr-Falcon can, I think, be 

 certainly recognised. One of them is the Black Gyr-Falcon, 

 Hierofalco obsoletus of American authors,* from Labrador. 

 The second is the Iceland Gyr-Falcon, peculiar to Iceland, re- 

 presented in Southern Greenland by Holboell's Gyr-Falcon {H. 

 holboclli), while the fourth is the well-known Norwegian Gyr- 

 Falcon (H. oyrfalco), which I believe to extend from Scandi- 

 navia to Eastern Siberia, and to North America also. Whether 

 the various other races, H. uralensts, H. greb?titskii, and others, 

 are distinct from the ordinary H. gyrfako, I have never had 

 enough material before me to enable me to pronounce an 

 opinion. 



Range in Great Britain — Like the Greenland Gyr-Falcon, the 

 present species is only an accidental visitor in winter, and 

 is decidedly less frequent than the last-named bird. It has 

 occurred in Scotland and the north of England, as well as in 

 Ireland. 



Range outside the British Islands. — My opinion is that this Gyr- 

 Falcon is peculiar to Iceland, and is only found elsewhere on 

 accidental migration. In Southern Greenland it is replaced 

 by H. holboelli. 



Habits. — Very little has been recorded of the Iceland Gyr 

 Falcon in its native home, and several recent observers who 

 have visited Iceland have not seen the bird at all during their 

 expeditions. The habits are doubtless the same as those of 

 the other species of the genus. It feeds on Plovers and sea- 

 fowl, according to a note supplied to Mr. Hewitson by Mr. 

 Proctor, who visited Iceland and found remains of Whim- 

 brel. Golden Plover, Guillemots, and Ducks, about the nest. 

 Ptarmigan also are largely captured. Faber says that after 

 the nesting-season, both adult and young birds approach the 

 homesteads, when they sit on elevations, and often fight with 

 the Ravens (cf. Newton, l.c). Lord Lilford writes : — " From 



* In 1874 I believed this name of Gmelin's to refer to a Buzzard, and 

 not a Gyr-Falcon. The general opinion, liowever, now sc^^is to be that 



it was intended for the latter. 



