322 



rNTEODUCTION TO ZOOLOOT. 



The Peregrine Falcon resembles the Golden Eagle in the 

 indifference evinced occasionally towards sportsmen and dogs. 

 An instance of this is thus narrated by Mr. Thompson : — 

 " Mr. Sinclaire, when once exercising his dogs on the Belfast 

 mountains, towards the end of July, preparatory to Grouse- 

 shooting, saw them point ; and, on coming up, he startled a 

 male Peregi-ine Falcon off a Grouse {Tetrao Scoticus) just 

 killed by him ; and very near the same place my friend came 

 upon the female bird, also on a Grouse. Although the 

 sportsm.an lifted both the dead birds, the Hawks continued 

 flying about; and on the remainder of the pack, which lay 

 near, being sprung by the dogs, either three or four more 

 Grouse were struck down by them, and thus two and a-half 

 or three brace were obtained by means of these wild birds, 

 being more than had ever been procured out of a pack of 

 Grouse by his trained Falcons." 



We record, from the same source, another illustrative 

 anecdote : — " In October, 1833, a female Peregrine Falcon of 

 Mr. Sinclaire' s — a bird of that year, and, consequently, but a 



few months old — 

 got loose in the 

 hawk - yard, and 

 killed a male of 

 her own species, 

 a year or two older 

 than herself, and 

 which had the 

 power of moving 

 at least a yard 

 from his block. 

 She had nearly 

 eaten him when 

 a person entered 

 the yard to feed 

 them, which he 

 did once daily, at 

 a regular hour. 

 This female bird 

 was ' full fed ' the day before, and had never got more 

 than one meal in the day." 



The Hawks, as distinguished from the true Falcons, have 

 the legs more slender, the wings shorter, the fourth quill the 



Fig. 2G0.— Goshawk. 



