462 



FALCON. 



shall now proceed shortly to notice the remaining, 

 smaller and more local division of this genus of 

 birds : 



JERFALCONS (Hierofalco), Cirvier. This (for though 

 it is probable that there are three distinct species, yet 

 we are well acquainted with only one,) is the most 

 powerful, and in some respects the most interesting 

 of all the falcons. In the structure of its wings it 

 resembles them exactly ; being adapted for rising 

 against the wind, and not floating by the wind's mo- 

 tion. The beak, however, differs from that of the 

 other falcons, in being almost without a tooth, having 

 merely a bend downwards near the tip of the upper 

 mandible, and a very slight notch in the under. It 

 is in fact, at least in so far as its cutting edges are 

 concerned, more like the beak of an eagle than that 

 of a falcon ; but it still retains the curvature from 

 the base, and in its general structure it is a very power- 

 ful instrument, more powerful perhaps than the beak 

 of any otlwr genus, not so much on account of its 

 greater size as of its superior strength, and the firm- 

 ness of its texture. 



Jenalcon. 



Tins form of beak in the jerfalcon shows how un- 

 safe it is to form our general notions of birds upon 

 the structure of any general organ. It has sometimes 

 been supposed that, in consequence of this want of a 

 tooth in the beak, the jerfalcon was allied to the vul- 

 ture ; and some have gone so far as to say that the 

 first part of its compound name "jer" is no'thing else 

 than gcycr, the name of a vulture in the north Alps, 

 altered in the pronunciation. Whether this be or be 

 not the case, is of little consequence ; but the proba- 

 bility is that it is not true ; because there is no vulture 

 in the native locality of the jerfalcon, and we believe 

 there never was an instance of a jerfalcon in a state 

 of nature appearing in a vulture's country, even as a 

 straggler. There could therefore be no means by 

 which the rude people of former times could so com- 

 pare these two birds, as to decide upon their similarity 

 or their dissimilarity ; and therefore we must regard 

 such observations as this in no other light than that 

 of fancies, which systematic naturalists are sometimes 

 apt to indulge in when they know not very well what 

 else to say. The truth is, that there is perhaps no 

 bird of the whole rapacious order that differs more 

 irom the vulture in ij* manners, and also in its geo- 



graphical distribution, than the jorfalcon does. As a 

 diurnal prey er, the jerfalcon tenants the arctic margin 

 of the land, and has to maintain its existence and find 

 its food amid the storms and the comparative deso- 

 lation of the north. And we may add, that there is 

 no creature within the whole compass of the animal 

 kingdom more admirably adapted to the scenes which 

 it tenants, and the atmosphere through which it has 

 to make its way. Its bones are more compact and strong 

 than those of any other known bird, being of greater 

 specific gravity, volume for volume, than those of the 

 golden eagle herself, though she too is a dweller in 

 stormy places, and has to beat the wilderness far and 

 wide for her subsistence. If we take those bones 

 singly, each of them is a perfect model of the maxi- 

 mum of strength and the minimum of their materials ; 

 and if we look at them in their connections, their arti- 

 culations, and those levers and purchases which tliry 

 afford to the tendons of the muscles, there is more 

 of the principles of mechanics to be learned from the 

 skeleton of a jerfalcon than from all the cqmbipations of 

 materials which were ever brought together by human 

 engineers. Then, if we proceed to examine this 

 matchless skeleton as it is clothed with flesh, emyrapt 

 in skin, and protected and furnished with feathers 

 we find in this bird one of the most striking, one of 

 the most irresistible proofs of infinite wisdom in con- 

 trivance, and infinite power in execution. Viewed in 

 this light, the jerfalcon, clutching the summit of the 

 ice-clad rock, or breasting the northern tempest when 

 it drives dark as midnight with snow, proclaims as 

 loudly the existence and the attributes of her Maker, 

 as if they were written in a book, in the most forcible 

 terms, and in all the languages under heaven.! 



We shall afterwards say a few words on the pro- 

 bability of a difference of species, or at all events a 

 variety in this most noble bird ; but we are in the 

 mean time treating of it as the one well-known jer- 

 falcon, Falco islandicus, of most authors ; and while 

 treating thus generally we shall quote the following 

 passage from Mudie's Feathered Tribes of the British 

 Islands : " It has not been positively ascertained that 

 the jerfalcon breeds in any part of the British islands, 

 neither can the fact of its so breeding be denied, be- 

 cause, in all places, its nest is situated so high among 

 the crags of the rocks, that it is difficult to be seen, 

 and still more difficult to be reached. But, if it does 

 not breed there, it pays occasional visits to the north- 

 ern and western isles, more especially to those places 

 of them that abound with rock doves ; and few 

 sights can be finer than that of the jerfalcon driving 

 through a flock of these. When the falcon comes 

 within sight of her prey, she bounds upwards, every 

 stroke of -her wings producing a perpendicular leap, 

 as if she were climbing those giant stairs into which 

 nature moulds the basaltic rocks ; and when she has 

 ' got the sky' of her prey to a sufficient height for 

 gaining the necessary impetus, her wings shiver for 

 a moment as she works herself into perfect command 

 and power, and to the full extent of her energy. Then 

 down she dashes, with so much velocity, that the im- 

 pression of her path remains on the eye, in the same 

 manner as that of the shooting meteor or flashin"- 

 lightning, and you fancy that there is a torrent of fal 

 cons rushing for fathoms through the air. The stroke 

 is as unerring as the motion is fleet. If it take effect 

 in the body, the bird is bruised and her hunt is over ; 

 but if a wing only is broken, the maimed bird is 

 allowed to flutter to the earth, and another is marked 



