THE PEREGRINE FALCON 



FALCO PEREGRINUS 



LOCAL names in surrounding counties : 



STATUS IN BRITISH AVIFAUNA : Local resident in the 

 wildest districts ; chiefly on the rock-bound coasts of 

 England and Wales, but in Scotland and Ireland more 

 generally dispersed. Its numbers are increased by migrants 

 in autumn and spring, at which seasons and during the 

 intervening months it is given to much wandering. 



RADIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF ST. 

 PAUL'S : This species, the largest of British Falcons, can 

 only be described as a rare and irregular visitor within 

 London's limits. There are, however, plenty of records 

 within the fifteen-mile area of this bold and handsome 

 bird's visits to the Metropolis, induced doubtless by the 

 flocks of Pigeons that haunt so many public buildings. 

 There can also be little doubt that the bird pays many a 

 fleeting call without being recognised. It is recorded that 

 a pair of Peregrines once frequented St. Paul's, and were 

 even thought to have bred there ; whilst the bird has 

 been seen to strike Pigeons in the London streets. It 

 has frequently been killed in many suburban localities 

 Hampstead, Finchley, Highgate, Harrow and at various 

 places in Essex, Kent, and Surrey. The examples 

 observed are usually in immature plumage, and most 

 frequently occur in autumn and winter. I note recent 

 records from Cheam and Sutton. 



The normal haunts of this beautiful Falcon are remote 

 from cities, in the wildest districts, especially along the 

 rock-bound coasts, where towering headlands fling back 

 the angry, turbulent waves that beat upon their face 

 incessantly, and where rabbits and Sea-fowl afford it an 

 abundance of food. Pigeons are everywhere a favourite 

 quarry, and the colonies of Doves in our towns and cities 



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