GEEEXLAXD HAWKS. 219 



The Iceland falcon is the species usually referred to 

 by the old writers when speaking of the ger-falcon, and 

 is certainly the one most easy to be procured in the 

 present day. With steam communication between this 

 country and Iceland there would be no difficulty in 

 procuring the young birds every season, as they may be 

 purchased in the country at a moderate rate. Unfortu- 

 nately great numbers are sacrificed annually for the pur- 

 pose of supplying the cabinets of ornithologists, even to 

 such an extent that excellent skins of these birds may 

 be purchased in this country for less than the cost of a 

 peregrine. 



INIany of these, however, come from Grreenland, 

 whence it might not be so easy to obtain them alive. 

 These falcons were formerly, we believe, considered the 

 property of the King of Denmark, and numbers of 

 them were yearly obtained from Iceland to be presented 

 as royal gifts to the other courts of Europe. Mr. Lloyd, 

 in his " Scandinavian Adventures,'' informs us that in 

 the year 1754 a ship brought one hundred and forty- 

 eight of these falcons from Iceland to Copenhagen. 

 The same author also says " the nests of the Norwegian 

 falcon were leased by the King of Denmark to a family 

 in Flanders." He remarks further that " he has seen 

 in an old Swedish newspaper for October 1761, a para- 

 graph stating that some falconers from Anspach in 

 Germany passed through the town of Linkoping with 

 forty-four live hawks, which had been taken between 

 .Tutland and Norway." At the present day the Iceland 

 fjilcon, when well trained, might be used for grouse and 

 blackgame hawking, as also for herons, wild geese, and 

 ducks, and probably also for gulls and rooks. 



When employed for taking hares it was customary to 



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