42 FALCONID.E. 



Heron, who evades it by a shift, and thus gives the se- 

 cond Hawk time to get up, and to stoop in his turn. In 

 what is deemed a good flight, this is frequently repeated, 

 and the three birds often mount to a great height in the 

 air. When one of the Hawks seizes his prey, the other 

 soon binds to Mm, as it is termed, and buoyant from the 

 motion of their wings, the three descend together to the 

 ground with but little velocity. The falconer must lose 

 no time in getting hold of the Heron's neck when he is 

 on the ground, to prevent him from injuring the Hawks. 

 It is then, and not when he is in the air, that he will 

 use his beak in his defence. Hawks have, indeed, some- 

 times, but very rarely, been hurt by striking against the 

 Heron's beak when stooping ; but this has been purely by 

 accident, and not, as "has been said, by the Heron's pre- 

 senting his beak to his pursuer as a means of defence. 

 When the Heron flies down wind, he is seldom taken, the 

 Hawks are in great danger of being lost, and as the flight 

 is in a straight line, it affords but little sport/' 



So bold as well as rapid is the Peregrine Falcon, that it 

 has frequently interfered and robbed the sportsman of his 

 game in the manner described under the article " Golden 

 Eagle," of which instances are related by Mr. Selby and 

 others. This species has been most aptly termed pere- 

 grinus, since it has been found in very distant parts of the 

 world ; its extraordinary powers of flight being probably 

 one great cause of extensive geographical distribution. In 

 this country it makes its nest on the high cliffs between 

 Freshwater Gate and the lighthouse, near the Needle 

 Rocks, and in some other parts of the Isle of Wight. In 

 Devonshire and Cornwall it is known by the name of the 

 Cliff-Hawk. Pennant has recorded a locality on the rocky 

 coast of Caernarvonshire. The young have been obtained 



