6 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
streaked with dark brown, the feathers elongated. 
The whole of the upper surface of the body and 
wings dark brown; the ends of the wing-primaries 
black; the upper surface of the feathers of the tail 
waved with two shades of brown; the chin and 
throat white; across the upper part of the breast a 
few feathers tinged with hght brown forming @ 
band; the under surface of the body, the thighs 
and under tail-coverts white; legs and toes blue; 
claws long, of nearly uniform length, crooked, sharp 
and solid, colour black; the under surface of the 
toes covered with short sharp spines, admirably 
adapted for holding a smooth and slippery prey.” 
According to Hewitson’s plate, the egg appears to 
be of a dull whitish brown ground, much browner at 
the longer end, thickly blotched and spotted with 
dark reddish brown, the blotches being much longer 
at the thick end. 
PEREGRINE F'atcon, Falco Peregrinus. The Pere- 
erine Falcon, in consequence of the destructive pro- 
pensities of gamekeepers, 1s becoming very scarce 
throughout England. A few pairs, however, continue 
to breed in different parts of this county. One pair, 
I have been informed, bred (and I believe continue 
to breed) on Brean Down, near Weston-super- Mare. 
I have occasionally seen the Peregrine Falcon in 
the neighbourhood of Burnham: once when on the 
look-out for wading birds on Stert Island I saw a 
large hawk, I believe a Peregrine, but I was not near 
