THE PEREGRINE FALCON AND CURLEW. 73 



The Peregrine will chase and kill many of the coast birds, snch as the dunlin, the gnll, 

 and the plover. The curlew is a very favourite prey, and being a strong-winged bird, 

 affords great sport. It is rather remarkable, that the dunlin, together with birds of similar 

 habits, fly instinctively to the sea, lake, or river when attacked by the Peregrine Falcon, 

 as if knowing that the winged hunter is very unwilling to swoop upon any object that is 

 flying upon the surface of the water. The Falcon has been seen to drive a dunlin 

 repeatedly into the sea before it could intercept the poor bird between the dryland and its 

 watery refuge. It will also strike at the grey crows, or at herons, but unless especially 

 trained to the pursuit, will not trouble itself further about them. 



ilr. Thompson gives us the following spirited description of a curlew chase, which is 

 valuable as exhibiting the capacities of both curlew and Falcon. 



" My friend and his companions were Ashing in Loch Ruthven, when a flock of these 

 birds (curlews) appeared. Immediately after\\'ards a tercel (or male Peregrine) came in sight, 

 bearing down upon them so suddenly as to be hardly seen until he had singled out and 

 swept one of them from a height of about fifty yards into the lake. Here he pounced at it, 

 but without striking, although it did not go below the surface of the water. On the tercel's 

 flying a little way off to take one of his bold circles when the quarry is put down, or at 

 bay, the curlew rose to follow the flock, and had got away about a hundred yards when 

 the tercel again bore down upon it. Refuge was a second time taken upon the lake. This 

 was repeated not less than ten times. The speed of the tercel's flight was considered to 

 be twice that of the curlew's, as when circling about two hundred yards off, he never gave 

 his desired victim leave to get more than about half that distance ahead, until he had it 

 down again. 



The curlew, although apparently more fatigued and worn out every time it was put 

 down, was the last time hardly able to rise from the lake, and escaped in consequence of 

 the flock from which it came, or a similar number of birds, appearing in sight, when its 

 persecutor betook himself after them. He very soon had one of this flock also in the 

 water, and enacted just the same part towards it as he had done towards the other. 

 It was put down to the lake at least a dozen times, and along a great extent of its surface, 

 once between the boats of the Ashing party, not more than about fifty yards distant from 

 each other. The hawk and the curlew were both several times within about twenty yards 

 of the boats, and once indeed the latter, closely pursued, took the water just before the 

 bow of one of them. Eventually the tercel left off the chase, though, as in the former 

 instance, the curlew was nearly worn out. The poor Inrd, now seeing two of his species 

 come in sight, joined them, and they all went off swiftly in company." An experienced 

 falconer who witnessed the scene, remarked that the swoops made by the wild Falcon 

 were bolder, and its flight stronger than he had seen in any trained bird. 



The full speed of the Peregrine Falcon has been computed at a hundi'ed and fifty 

 miles per hour, and a single chase will often occupy a space of eight or ten miles. Its 

 power of wing is not only useful in enaljling it to wage successful pursuit of swift-winged 

 birds, but in giving it sufficient buoyancy to carry off the prey which it has secured. So 

 strong is the Peregrine's wing that it has often been observed to bear in its talons a bird 

 laiger than itself, and to carry it to the nest without difficulty. Even a guillemot has 

 been struck and carried off by the Peregrine. 



To give a full account of the sport of falconry would demand a separate work, for 

 even the technical terms of that art would require a glossary of many pages. It must 

 suttice to say that the hawks were especially trained to fly at herons, and their mode of 

 taking their prey was by mounting perpendiciilarly in hopes of gaining a vantage point 

 above the game, from which they might swoop down with lightning-like force, and strike 

 the quarry to the gi-ound. For this sport the female birds were always preferred, as they 

 are not only larger and more powerful than their mates, but are also possessed of more 

 perseverance and daring courage. Technically, the adult males are termed tercels, 

 tiercels, or tarsels, the females only being distinguished by the title of Falcon. The 

 difference between the dimensions of the two sexes is very strongly marked, the male 

 being about fifteen inches in length, while the female measures eighteen inches. 



There are various methods of taking these birds for the purpose of the chase, some 



