PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 135 



and rather more heavily barred below. Length 17 in. [432*0 mm.]. Immature 

 birds have the upper parts of dusky brown, and the feathers margined with rufous, 

 while the under parts are longitudinally striped, instead of transversely barred 

 with black. Young in down white, with the soft parts blue instead of yellow, 

 [w. P. P.] 



2. Distribution. In the British Isles the peregrine is still to be found 

 breeding sparsely along the south coast of England, becoming more common on 

 the cliffs of the Devonian Peninsula and in Wales, where it also breeds on a few 

 inland localities. It is necessarily absent from the low-lying east coasts of England 

 south of the Yorkshire cliffs, but survives in small numbers in the Pennine range 

 and is found in the Lake district. In Scotland it is more numerous, especially 

 on the coasts and islands, but is also found inland, and ranges as far as the 

 Shetlands and the outlying rocks of the Hebrides. It is not uncommon on the 

 Isle of Man, and many pairs breed round the coasts of Ireland, as well as in 

 mountain crags inland. Outside the British Isles this race is found on the 

 Continent of Europe from Arctic Norway and the north island of Novaya Zemlia 

 southward to the Mediterranean. Its range also extends over part of Northern 

 Asia, but it is represented by allied races in the Mediterranean and North Africa, 

 various parts of Asia, Australia, and North America east to Western Greenland. 

 It is partially migratory, the young moving south in autumn, and northern birds 

 being migrants, but the Mediterranean race is sedentary. As its name implies, it 

 is a great wanderer, and has occurred in most parts of the world. [F. c. u. J.] 



3. Migration. A resident, and a bird-of-passage to and from Northern 

 Europe. The migrants, immature birds for the most part, occur mainly on the 

 east coast of Great Britain between autumn and spring, a few remaining during 

 the winter (cf. Nelson, B. of Tories., 1907, p. 360, etc.). They are usually recorded 

 singly, but sometimes in twos or threes, and travel by day. [A. L. T.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. In the British Isles the nesting-site is almost always on 

 a ledge in the face of a cliff, often very difficult of access. The site is, however, some- 

 times on quite low rocks, and the species has been found nesting among heather 

 on a low-lying islet. On the Continent it not infrequently breeds on hummocks 

 in marshes, or on the ground in Northern Europe and Asia, but in the forests of 

 Central Europe it is most frequently found breeding in one of the many old nests 

 of Raptorial birds which are to be found in the trees. Strictly speaking, there is no 

 nest, the falcon merely making a circular hollow with her breast in turf, or the 

 flattened surface of the old nest of crow, raven, heron, buzzard, goshawk, etc. When 



