FALCONS. 



35 



of Good Hope. It is from this celebrated species that the chase of game by- 

 means of birds of prey derives its name. It descends upon its prey vertically, 

 as if it fell from the sky : hence it catches birds on the wing-. In most dis- 

 tricts, grouse and partridges constitute its favourite food, and it is at such 

 game that it is taught to fly : but in the vicinity of water it destroys numbers 

 of aquatic birds, swooping down and carrying them oft" in its talons. Rabbits 

 and leverets are also frequently destroyed by these marauders, and their bold- 

 ness is such that they have been known to strike grouse sprung by the sports- 

 man's dog before they had risen high enough to be shot at. 



When searching after prey, this falcon often adopts a flight resembling that 

 of the tame pigeon, until, perceiving its victim, it redoubles its flappings, and 

 pursues the fugitive with a rapidity scarcely to be conceived. Its turnings 

 and windmgs through the air are now surprising. It follows and nears the 

 timorous quarry at every turn which the latter attempts. Arrived within a few 

 feet of the prey, the falcon extends his powerful legs and talons to their full 

 stretch ; his wings almost close for a moment, and the next instant he grap- 

 ples his prize, which, if too heavy to be carried off directly, he forces obliquely 

 towards the ground, sometimes a hundred feet from the place where it was 

 seized, to kill it and devour it on the spot. 



Under other circumstances, when the female falcon comes within sight of 

 her quarry, she bounds upwards, every stroke of the wings producing a per- 

 pendicular leap, as if she were climbing those gigantic stairs into which 

 Nature moulds her basaltic rocks, and when she has "got the sky" of her 

 prey to a sufficient height for gaining the necessary impetus, her wings shiver 

 for a moment, as she works herself into perfect command and poise. Then, 

 prone she dashes with so much velocity, that the impression of her path 

 remains on the eye, in the same manner as that of the shooting meteor or 

 the flashing lightning. The observer fancies that there is a torrent of falcon 

 rushing for fathoms through the air. The stroke is as unerring as the motion 

 is fleet. If it take effect in the body, the bird is trussed, and the hunt is over; 

 but if a wing only is broken, the maimed bird is allowed to flutter to the earth, 

 and another is marked for the collision of death. 



The falcon's command of the air is truly wonderful : a few strokes of its 

 powerful wing will send it up till it is hardly visible, or bring it from the top 

 of its flight to within a short distance from the ground. At times it will ride 

 motionless, as if anchored in the sky, and anon, with hardly any perceptible 

 movement of the wings, shoot down with the rapidity of an arrow. The col- 

 lision with their prey is terribly effective. It is no slight force which can 

 break a wing, strike off a head, or burst a bird asunder, when it is not merely 

 suspended in the air but in rapid motion away from the striker. If the falcon 

 misses, we need not wonder that the game escapes before its pursuer recovers 

 himself— MuDiE. 



The peregrine falcon usually builds a nest amongst nearly iiaaccessible 

 rocks on the sea-coast, but sometimes selects an inland station. The nest is 

 a bulky structure, composed of sticks and dried plants, and in it the female 

 lays three or four eggs, of a dull light red colour, with darker spots. 



