GYR-FALCON. 37 



bust ; tarsi short : toes long, strong, armed with curved and sharp claws. 

 Wings long and pointed ; the first and third quill-feathers of equal length, 

 the second quill-feather the longest. 



OF the true Falcons which the British Islands produce, 

 the Gyr-Falcon may be considered one of the most 

 typical in form, as it is the largest in size. It is an 

 inhabitant of the North of Europe and North America, 

 seldom appearing south of the 52 of latitude, or north 

 of 74. It is not, however, very numerous anywhere ; 

 and from its great courage and strength large sums were 

 formerly expended in procuring specimens from Iceland 

 and Norway, for various potentates of Europe who were 

 then devoted to Falconry. Those specimens obtained 

 from Iceland were called exclusively Iceland Falcons ; 

 and, from peculiarities observed in their disposition, as 

 well as in their mode of flying at their game, not only 

 commanded the highest prices, but they were, and are 

 even now, considered by falconers as a species distinct 

 from the Gyr-Falcon. " They say that these two Falcons 

 differ in the comparative length of their wings in reference 

 to the tail ; the Iceland Falcon is, to them, a much more 

 valuable, as well as a much more rare species ; that they 

 require a different system of training, as well as of gene- 

 ral management. They describe the Iceland Falcon as a 

 bird of higher, courage than the Gyr-Falcon ; of a more 

 rapid and bolder flight ; and that it can be flown success- 

 fully at larger game. Its- gyrations are said to be wider, 

 its mount higher, and its stoop to the quarry more impe- 

 tuous, grand, and imposing." Some naturalists believe 

 that the Greenland and Iceland Falcons are distinct spe- 

 cies;* others, with M. Temminck, consider these birds 

 as local varieties only. 



* See a paper by Mr. John Hancock, Annals of Natural History, vol. 

 ii. page 241. 



