70 BRITISH LAND BIRDS. 



reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden 

 scream, probably of despair and execration, the 

 latter drops his fish. The eagle, poising himself 

 for a moment as if to take a more certain aim, de- 

 scends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp, 

 ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten 

 booty silently away to the woods." 



Of the true FALCONS (which give their name to 

 the whole family) we have seven species in Eng- 

 land, of which four are regular visitors, namely, 

 the peregrine, the hobby, the merlin, and the 

 kestrel ; and three only occasional, namely, the 

 gyr falcon (or Iceland falcon), the Greenland 

 falcon, and the orange-legged falcon. 



The GYR (or Iceland) FALCON is the largest in 

 size, and possesses great courage and strength. 

 'Large sums were formerly expended in procuring 

 specimens from Iceland and Norway for the pur- 

 poses of falconry, and it was usual to fly them at 

 birds of large size, such as cranes, storks, and 

 herons. This is not a numerous species anywhere, 

 and is very rare in our island, being merely an 

 accidental visitor. The mature plumage of the 

 Iceland falcon is white, with bars or dashes of 

 brown, somewhat resembling that of the snowy 

 owl. * 



The PEREGRINE FALCON is one of the strongest 



