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aided by the recoil of the blow, causes it to rise in the air with a beautiful 
upward sweep, gracefully curving round to pick up the dead bird. Sometimes 
both hawk and quarry will tower upwards till both are out of sight. A Pere- 
grine has been known to cut asnipe in two and to strike off the head of a grouse 
at one blow. When a duck is struck, the unfortunate bird is frequently 
lacerated from end to end. ‘They feed entirely on what they kill for themselves ; 
the list including all smaller birds and many larger, even the Capercailie and 
the Kestrel; also hares, rabbits, other small animals, and occasionally fish. 
They cast up pellets of the indigestible parts of their prey like owls do. Very 
seldom do they strike at a bird upon the water, though one has been known to 
carry off a Guillemot out of a swimming flock ; and the sea-birds being apparently 
quite aware of this, generally take refuge at once upon the water when pursued 
by it. 
The Peregrine will often strike down several birds in succession without 
picking them up, and will take shot game right before the sportsman. On one 
occasion two gentlemen were grouse-shooting, and one of them wounded a bird 
which was almost immediately struck down by a Peregrine, who, without 
waiting, knocked down two brace more out of the pack and then made off, 
leaving the sportsmen to pick up their easily-earned game. Their clutch is not 
so fatal as their stroke, birds having been carried a long distance without being 
much the worse for it. A Peregrine has been known to carry a Blackcock several 
miles to its nest. 
They build early in the Spring, and if one of them is shot, the other is sure 
to return soon with a fresh mate. The nest is flat in shape, and placed on some 
inaccessible ledge or crevice of a cliff, or rarely in a lofty tree. It is made of 
sticks lined with sea-weed, hair, etc. Sometimes an old one is repaired, or a 
mere hollow in the rock suffices. 
Their chief breeding places in Britain are :—Kilnsea Crag—the cliffs of the 
Isle of Wight, of Devon, and of Cornwall—Beachy Head—Bass Rock—Great 
Orme’s Head—Llandudno—the Isle of Man—the Vale of Moffat—St. Abbs 
Head—Ailsa Crag—Portpatrick, etc., in Scotland. 
In our own district it chooses the steepest and most precipitous 
crags. The nest is well hidden, and is usually discovered by seeing 
the old birds go to it. They nest occasionally on St. Bees Head, 
as well as on Skiddaw, near Thirlmere, and on Scawfell. There 
are about four pairs in the district as a rule, and they do not seem 
to increase or decrease in number. This particular bird (exhibited) 
was killed in the covers at Newton Manor, near Gosforth, in | 
November, 1878. Another was shot that year on Birker Fell, and 
I saw one near Wastwater in May, 1879. One was seen in Gosforth 
