394 Wild Life in Wales 



could be seen with the binoculars, his successor was in a 

 precisely similar state. 



A female Peregrine Falcon, which I saw shot from her 

 eyrie on the Ddwallt, on I3th May, was heavily in the moult. 

 One or two of the primaries in each wing had been renewed, 

 and were almost full grown ; two of the others had recently 

 been shed, and the gaps they left could easily be seen as the 

 bird soared overhead ; on the back, and amongst the upper 

 wing coverts, a considerable number of adult feathers 

 were beginning to show, but otherwise the bird was in her 

 first plumage. In and about the nest were a number of the 

 cast feathers. At considerable trouble I obtained several 

 photographs of this bird, one of which ought to have shown 

 up very clearly the longitudinal markings on the breast ; but 

 unfortunately, owing to an accident, all the negatives were 

 lost. The one here reproduced of the single egg which the 

 nest contained fortunately escaped the calamity. I do not 

 recollect to have previously seen a falcon sitting upon only 

 one egg, but of course we could not tell that no accident 

 had already befallen the nest, or that the bird had not laid 

 any others ; it was evident, however, that she intended to 

 lay no more, for she had already been sitting for some days 

 before she was shot. While concealed near this eyrie, I 

 saw, on different occasions, the male falcon (who, by the 

 way, was a mature bird) bring to his sitting partner a 

 Grouse, a Pigeon (already plucked save for some of the 

 flight feathers, and a quantity of down about the body), and 

 a Starling. He did not carry them to the nest, however ; 

 but, alighting on a rock above, called the hen to him, and, 

 relinquishing the food to her there, at once flew off again. 

 She generally made her meal on this rock, but sometimes 

 carried the prey to another ; I never saw her bring it to the 

 near neighbourhood of the nest to devour, though the 

 pigeon feathers scattered around seemed to suggest that 

 this was not an invariable custom. 



Once, when I had made my way to the nest during the 

 absence of both falcons, 1 witnessed their return together in 

 most characteristic fashion. There was an interrupted 

 view from the rock over quite a mile of comparatively flat 



