140 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



parents were present, and kept up a continued screaming, though at too 

 great a distance for him to shoot eitlier. He adds that this bird is by no 

 means scarce on Lockhart Eiver, and he was informed that it also nests 

 along the ramparts and other steep banks of the Upper Anderson, though 

 he has not been able to learn that it has been found north of Fort Anderson. 

 In another instance the nest was on a ledge of clayey mud, — the eggs, in 

 fact, lying on the bare ground, and nothing resembling a nest to be seen. A 

 third nest was found on a ledge of crumbling shale, along the banks of the 

 Anderson Eiver, near the outlet of the Lockhart. This Hawk, he remarks, 

 so far as lie was able to observe, constructs no nest whatever. At least, on 

 the Anderson Eiver, where he found it tolerably abundant, it was found 

 to invariably lay its eggs on a ledge of rock or shale, without making 

 use of any accessory lining or protection, always availing itself of the 

 most inaccessible ledges. He was of the opinion that they do not breed to 

 the northward of the 68th parallel. They were also to be found nesting in 

 occasional pairs along the lime and sandstone banks of the Mackenzie, 

 where early in August, for several successive years, he noticed the young of 

 the season fully fledged, though still attended by the parent birds. 



In subsequent notes, Mr. MacFarlane repeats his observations that this 

 species constructs no nest, merely laying its eggs on a ledge of shale or 

 other rock. Both parents were invariably seen about the spot. In some 

 instances the eggs found were much larger than in others. 



Mr. Dall mentions shooting a pair near Nuk'koh, on the Yukon Eiver, 

 that had a nest on a dead spruce. The young, on the 1st of June, were 

 nearly ready to fly. It was not a common species, but was found from 

 Nulato to Sitka and Kodiak. 



In regard to general characteristics of this Falcon, they do not apparently 

 differ in any essential respects from those of the better-known Falco com- 

 munis of the Old World. It flies with immense rapidity, rarely sails in 

 the manner of other Hawks, and then only for brief periods and when dis- 

 appointed in some attempt upon its prey. In such cases, Mr. Audubon 

 states, it merely rises in a broad spiral circuit, in order to reconnoitre a space 

 below. It then flies swiftly off in quest of plunder. These flights are 

 made in the manner of the Wild Pigeon. When it perceives its object, it 

 increases the flappings of its wings, and pursues its victim witli a surprising 

 rapidity. It turns, and winds, and follows every change of motion of the 

 object of pursuit with instantaneous quickness. Occasionally it seizes a 

 bird too heavy to be managed, and if this be over the water it drops it, if 

 the distance to land be too great, and flies off in pursuit of another. Mr. 

 Audubon has known one of this species to come at the report of a gun, and 

 carry off a Teal not thirty steps distant from the sportsman who had killed 

 it. This daring conduct is a characteristic trait. 



This bird is noted for its predatory attacks upon water-fowl, but it does 

 not confine itself to such prey. In the interior, Eichardson states that it 



