FALCONS. BIRDS. -THE PEREGRINE FALCOX. 



255 



Richardson, in the Hudson's Bay territories, " its 

 habitual prey is the ptarmigan, but it also destroys 

 plover, ducks, and geese ;" from its great strength and 

 courage it was employed by falconers in tho pursuit of 

 the largest quarries, such as cranes, storks, and herons. 



The breeding places of the Gyrfalcon are all in the 

 high northern latitudes ; the best known are the rocky 

 coasts of Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador. 

 Mr. Anderson, who observed the nest in the latter 

 country, describes it as " composed of sticks, sea- 

 weeds, and mosses, about two feet in diameter and 

 nearly flat." lu defence of its young the Gyrfalcon 

 exhibits great courage, as is shown by the following 

 anecdote related by Sir John Richardson : " In the 

 middle of June, 1821," says that distinguished natural- 

 ist, "a pair of these birds attacked me as I was climbing 

 in the vicinity of their nest, which was built on a lofty 

 precipice on the borders of Point Lake, in latitude 65j. 

 They flew in circles, uttering loud and harsh screams, 

 and alternately stooping with such 

 velocity that their motion through the 

 air produced a loud rushing noise. 

 They struck their claws within an inch 

 of my head. I endeavoured, by keeping 

 the barrel ot my gun close to my cheek, 

 and suddenly elevating its muzzle when 

 they were in the act ot striking, to 

 ascertain whether they had the power 

 of instantaneously changing the direc- 

 tion of their rapid course, and found that 

 they invariably rose above the obstacle 

 with the quickness of thought, showing 

 equal acuteness of vision, and power of 

 motion." 



THE PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco pere- 

 yrinus) is the next in point of size to the 

 gyrfalcon amongst the European species 

 of this group ; it is a far more abundant 

 bird in all the countries which it fre- 

 quents, and especially in Britain. It has 

 been noticed breeding on many parts of 

 the coast of these islands, from the Isle of 

 Wight to the Orkneys and Shetlands; 

 it occurs, like the gyrfalcon, over the 

 northern parts of both hemispheres, but 

 extends its range much further to the 

 south, being well known in the United 

 States, the south of Europe, and in India, 

 whilst its occurrence has been recorded 

 oy good naturalists even at the Straits of 

 Magellan, the Cape of Good Hope, and in Australia. 

 Mr. Gould, however, regards the Australian bird as a 

 distinct species, which he has described under the name 

 of the Black-cheeked falcon (.P. melanogenys). 



The Peregrine Falcon usually measures from fifteen 

 to eighteen inches in length ; the plumage of the top of 

 the head and the back of the neck is nearly black, and 

 a spot of the same colour occurs on the cheeks beneath 

 the eyes; the back is of a bluish-ash colour, with darker 

 bars; the pi'imaries are brownish-black, with whitish 

 spots on the inner webs ; the front of the neck is 

 whitish, spotted with brown, and the rest of the lower 

 surface greyish-white, with numerous dark brown bars ; 



the beak is blue, with a blackish tip and a yellow cere ; 

 the feet are also yellow, with acute black claws. The 

 female of this most elegant of the falcon tribe is con- 

 siderably larger than the male ; she was more highly 

 valued by the old falconers, by whom the name of 

 falcon was especially devoted to her, the male being 

 called a tiercel or tiercelet (sometimes corrupted into 

 tassel), from his being as they said one-third smaller 

 than his partner. From their docility and beauty the 

 Peregrines, notwithstanding their comparative abun- 

 dance, were always great favourites with the falconers ; 

 their qualities were studied with the greatest enthusiasm; 

 their persons and nests were protected by legislative 

 enactments ; and an extravagantly high value was set 

 upon those which combined in the highest degree the 

 qualities most in request. Thus, we are told, that in 

 the reign of James I., one Sir Thomas Monson paid a 

 thousand pounds (an enormous sum in those days) for a 

 single cast (or couple) of these hawks. The female of 



Fig. 100. 



The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus.) 



falcon, as she was termed, was flown at quarries of large 

 size and considerable strength, such as herons, ducks, 

 and wild geese, and from her great strength and courage 

 was well adapted for this pursuit. Sir John Sebright, the 

 great modern authority upon hawking, gives the follow- 

 ing interesting account of the chase of the heron as prac- 

 tised in Norfolk : He says, " The herons go out in the 

 morning to rivers and ponds at a very considerable dis- 

 tance in search of food, and return to the heronry towards 

 the evening. It is at this time that the falconers place 

 themselves in the open country, down wind of the 

 heronry; so that when the herons are intercepted on 

 their return home, they are obliged to fly against the 



