8 BIRDS OF PREY. 



GYRFALCON. 



Falco rusticolus gyrfalco. 



Char. Upper parts dull brownish (dusky), with bars of bluish gray; 

 lower parts white, or mostly white marked with dusky ; thighs heavily 

 barred. 



BLACK GYRFALCON. 



Falco rusticolus obsoletus. 



Char. Prevailing color brownish black; usually barred with lighter 

 tints, but sometimes the bars are indistinct. 



This elegant and celebrated Falcon is about two feet in 

 length ; the female two or three inches longer. They particu- 

 larly abound in Iceland, and are found also throughout Siberia, 

 and the North of Europe as far as Greenland ; Mr. Hutchins, 

 according to Pennant, saw them commonly about Fort Albany, 

 at Hudson's Bay. Occasionally a pair is also seen in this 

 vicinity in the depth of winter. They brave the coldest cli- 

 mates, for which they have such a predilection as seldom to 

 leave the Arctic regions ; the younger birds are commonly seen 

 in the North of Germany, but very rarely the old, which are 

 readily distinguished by the superior whiteness of their plumage, 

 which augments with age, and by the increasing narrowness 

 of the transverse stripes that ornament the upper parts of the 

 body. The finest of these Falcons were caught in Iceland by 

 means of baited nets. The bait was commonly a Ptarmigan, 

 Pigeon, or common Fowl ; and such was the velocity and 

 power of his pounce that he commonly severed the head 

 from the baited bird as nicely as if it had been done by a 

 razor. These birds were reserved for the kings of Denmark, 

 and from thence they were formerly transported into Ger- 

 many, and even Turkey and Persia. The taste for the amuse- 

 ment of falconry was once very prevalent throughout Europe, 

 and continued for several centuries ; but at this time it has 

 almost wholly subsided. The Tartars, and Asiatics gener- 

 ally, were also equally addicted to this amusement. A Sir 



