77 



June 26, 1838. 

 William Horton Lloyd, Esq., in the Chair, 



A specimen of the Peregrine Falcon was upon the table, •which 

 had been sent to the Society's office as a donation to the Menagerie, 

 with the following letter addressed to Mr. Rees, from the donor, 

 Capt. Charles Robertson : — 



" SiR, 



" I BEG to present to you the accompanying Hawk, which was caught 

 on board the ship Exmouth, on the 12th of February lašt, on her 

 passage from Bengal to London, ■vvhen in about latitude 12° north, 

 and longitude 88°"30 east, which placed the ship about 300 miles 

 from the Andaman Islands ; and from observing the bird's tendency 

 to fly away towards the east about the time of sunrise, for some 

 days after it was caught, I am led to suppose that it mušt have been 

 blown ofF, or followed its prey till out of sight of, those Islands. At 

 the time that it was taken, it Avas in the act of devouring the remains 

 of a sea bird on the main-topsail yard, which it had previously been 

 seen to pounce do\vn upon and take up from the sea. 



" The injured leg was occasioned by a ring, to which it was attached 

 ■when first caught, and the struggles of the bird to get away ; but I 

 have great hopes that it will regain in some measure the use of it 

 by proper care and attention, which I was unable to give it ; and it is 

 now much improved to •vvhat it was, the two parts being more in- 

 clined to unite. I have fed it upon raw^ fresh meat, and young rats 

 occasionally, but it never looks at water. When approaching the 

 coast of England, it vvas very remarkable that the bird again strug- 

 gled to get away in the direction of the land, although -vve vvere so 

 far off as not to see it from the ship. I am not avv^are that this 

 hawk differs from the common species, but the circumstances attend- 

 ing it may be interesting to a naturalist ; and if it should be thought 

 •vvorthy of being added to your coUection, I shall feel amply repaid 

 for the trouble I have taken to preserve it. 



" This is the second instance of a ha\vk being taken by me out of 

 sight of land ; and on the former occasion a sparrow took refuge in 

 the cabin : we were at that time about 80 miles from Ceylon. From 

 these circumstances it is evident that hawks traverse great spaces of 

 the ocean, being able to feed on the M'ing. 



" I remain, Sir, your obedient Servant, 



" Charles Robertson." 



18, Alfred-place, Bedford-square, 

 26th June, 1838. 



The first part of a paper was then read by Mr. Blyth, entitled, 

 " Outlines of a Systematic Arrangement of the class Avės." 



