474 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



mainly, if not entirely, of insects. The members of the Falcon Tribe may be distinguished 

 from the majority of the larger hawks by the fact that the eyes are dark hazel-brown 

 instead of yellow, and that the bare, yellow, waxy-looking band of skin at the base of the 

 beak, so characteristic of the Birds of Prey, is not sharply defined, but scantily clothed with 

 fine bristles, passing insensibly into the feathers of the crown of the head. 



Some of the best-known members of this section of the group arc the PEREGRINE and 

 JER-FALCONS, and the KESTREL, HOBBY, and MERLIN. Only the peregrine and the kestrel, 

 however, can now be called common. 



The PEREGRINE is the falcon held so much in esteem by falconers, by whom the female 

 only was called the " falcon," the male, which is smaller, being known as a "tiercel." The 



female was used for the capture of the larger game, such 

 as herons and rooks ; whilst the male was flown only at 

 partridges, and sometimes magpies. 



In a wild state the peregrine falcon is regarded by other 

 birds with the greatest fear and terror. Ducks feeding on 

 the banks of streams or lakes, on perceiving it, immediately 

 take to the water; whilst plovers and lapwings rise to an 

 immense height in the air, and remain there for hours. 

 Mr. Ussher, who has had many opportunities of studying 

 this bird in Ireland, where it is quite common, relates an 

 instance of the tenacity with which it follows its prey, in 

 this case a lapwing. " The falcon," he says, " after several 

 stoops, cleverly avoided by the lapwing, was so near clutching, 

 that the poor bird, quite worn out, dropped into the water, 

 and the falcon, after rising from her stoop, poised a moment 

 on her wings, and then quietly lowering herself with extended 

 legs, lifted the lapwing from the water and bore her off." 



The eyrie is generally found half-way up some precipi- 

 tous cliff: no nest is made, but the eggs are laid on the 

 earth or gravel covering the selected ledge. When eggs 

 are found in a nest, the latter has always been taken from 

 some other bird, even the eagle being occasionally dispossessed. 

 Three or four eggs are laid, which are very beautiful and 

 IBk^^p variable in their coloration. The young are attended by 

 their parents long after they are able to fly. 



The JER-FALCONS are birds of large size and great 

 beauty, and at one time were much in request by falconers, 

 probably largely on account of their appearance, for they 

 lack the power and spirit of the peregrine. Grey and 

 black and white and black are distinctive colours of the 

 various species, which are inhabitants of northern regions. 



The KESTREL, or WIND-HOVER, is one of the commonest birds of prey, much and most 

 unjustly persecuted by gamekeepers. In its general appearance it closely resembles its much 

 smaller relative, the so-called " SPARROW-HAWK " of America, shown in the photograph on this 

 page by Dr. Shufeldt. The American sparrow-hawk, it should be mentioned, is really a 

 species of kestrel, and, like the British kestrel, belongs to the Falcon group of the Birds of 

 Prey. Like the peregrine falcon, the kestrel does not build a nest, but takes possession of 

 the deserted nests of crows and magpies, or deposits its eggs on the bare earth of a recess in 

 some cliff or quarry which is overhung by a projecting shelf of rock. Occasionally a hole in a 

 tree is chosen, the eggs then resting on the rotten wood at the bottom. That the kestrel is 

 of a more confiding disposition than the majority of its tribe seems to be proved by the fact that 

 it will often deposit its eggs in nesting-boxes, if these are placed in suitable spots. On some 



PtMt tj Dr. R. (C. Shufildl, H^aihingltn 



AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWK 



One of the smallest and handsomest of the 

 American baivks 



