82 THE BIRDS OF DEVONSHIRE. 



RED-FOOTED FALCON.— Fc/ko vespertinus (Linn). 

 A RARE visitant. The late Rev. R. A. Julian, an 

 accomplished ornithologist, informed the Rev. F. O. 

 Morris that he knew of two specimens obtained 

 near Plymouth. One flew on board a vessel in the 

 Channel, near the Breakwater and was captured 

 (Morris B.B. I. p. 108). The other is the bird 

 alluded to by the late Mr. Rodd, in the following 

 words : "When visiting Devonport in June 1863, I 

 saw an adult male of this species in the hands of 

 Mr. Pincombe, naturalist of that town, which had 

 been shot some time previously at Wembury Cliff, 

 .... on the Devonshire side of Plymouth Sound. . . . 

 This is the specimen referred to by Yarrell as having 

 been in a Museum at Devonport, and killed not far 

 off. It is now in my collection '' (B. of C. p. 9). 



KESTREL. — Falco tinnunmlus, Linn. 

 A COMMON resident, fairly distributed all over the 

 county, though Mr. Mitchell considers it less 

 abundant in North Devon than in the district of 

 Tavistock, in which he now resides. Writing from 

 Tavistock, Mr. Mitchell remarks ] " These birds 

 build in the numerous steep rocks around here. 

 They feed largely on beetles. When they nest in 

 rocks, they make no nest at all, but scoop a hollow 

 in the mould, among their pellets." 



Q^VKWi.—Pandion haUaetus (Linn). 



A RARE visitant to the estuaries and rivers of S. 

 Devon ; almost unknown in the North of the 



