270 



FALCONIN-fi. 



specimen of the Brown Ilawlv ( I Iicriuidca oricutalis), obtained on the Tweed River, New South 

 Wales. I have never handled or seen a specimen from the western portion of the continent. 

 Individual variation is not uncommon, some adult specimens having; the feathers of the throat 

 dull white strealced with brown, in others extended on to the sides of the head, and in what are 

 probably immature specimens on to the feathers on the forehead and nape. Again others exhibit 

 more or less the remains of broken cross-bars of buff and narrow whitish edges to the tips of the 

 tail feathers. 



From interestiuL; notes of the late Mr. 1\. H. liennett, made in the i\Ioss;;iel and Lachlan 

 River District, New South Wales, I have extracted the following information: — "The first 

 thing that strikes an observer with regard to Falco suhniiiir is its extraordinary swift flight, 

 almost equalling that of Cvpsclm, and the next its powers of endurance on the wing. It is 

 tolerably numerous at certain times, for here they are undoubtedly migratory, arriving about 

 the beginning of September in company with Tiiniix vt'lox, on which it preys, and departing 

 about February. Ouail and the young of birds fre(iuenting the plains, such as Aiithus australis, 

 CiucIovJiaiuphui cniralis, and liphthianiifa aurifnnis constitute its chief prey, fur great as are the 

 Black Falcon's powers of flight, he has more than a match in the adults of any of the above- 

 mentioned birds, for they dodge and turn so (juickly that the Falcon has no chance with them. 

 On one occasion a 'Ground Lark' (Aiithiis aiistraln) deiied the united efforts of no less than three 

 Falcons, the ' Lark ' simply avoiding by a c]uick turn each Falcon's strik'e, but finally it fell a 

 victim, completely tired out. One peculiarity of this bird not shared by any others of the family 

 that I am aware of, is its habit when watching for prey of fie(]uently ascending to such a great 

 height as to be in\isible, which shows the wonderlul power ol vision possessed by this bird. 

 Many and many a time when on the plains, miles from any timber, with a flock of sheep camped, 

 I haxe carefully scanned the sky overhead and around to see if a Falcon was visible, but not a 

 speck has met my gaze in any direction. On starting to drive the sheep, and almost immediately 

 have they disturbed a Quail, a rushing sound would be heard overhead, and on looking up a 

 dark object would be seen descending with fearful rapidity, and so compressed or gathered 

 together, as to render any one unacquainted with the bird to say what the object was. When 

 some thirty or forty feet from the ground the descent is arrested, and by a sudden movement 

 and expansion of wings the Falcon assumes a horizontal attitude, and the chase commences, 

 which as a rule results in speedy capture, and the Falcon, by a series of graceful curves, 

 again mounts into the air, devouring its prey as it ascends, an occasional tuft of blood-stained 

 feathers slowly wafted earthwards, the same operation being repeated when the next quail, or 

 some young bird is flushed. Sometimes, however, the Falcon is baulked by the quarry suddenly 

 dropping into some sheltering salt-bush, but rarely more than a foot or eighteen inches high. 

 When this is the case the Falcon quickly arrests its flight, and closing its wings, by a powerful 

 movement shoots perpendicularly into the air for some distance, and then expanding its wings, 

 hovers for a short time over the bush in which its prey has taken refuge. Should it be a scanty 

 one, and the unfortunate bird \ isible, the Falcon slowly descends, alighting on the top of the 

 bush, and flapping its outstretched wings drives the terrihed victim out, when it is speedily 

 clutched in the talons of its remorseless foe. Should the bush prove too dense, and the bird 

 not to be seen, the Falcon gives it up and mounts skyward again. As an instance of the 

 sluggishness or stupidity of the Letter-winged Kite, I may mention that I one day saw a Black 

 Falcon dash into a number of them perched on a dry Pine-tree, close to the house, and clutch 

 one in its sharp talons ; both birds fell to the ground, and after struggling for a few moments 

 the Falcon rose heavily and flew off with its prey ; the other Kites sat perfectly still all through 

 the performance. This went on for several days, the Falcon each time securing a victim. 

 Noticing that the Falcon's visits occurred at about the same hour daily, I determined to try 



• Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S Wales, Vol. X., pp. 162-7 (1S85.) 



