BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



streaked with dark brown, the feathers elongated. 

 The whole of the upper surface of the body and 

 wings dark brown; the ends of the wing- primaries 

 black ; the upper surface of the feathers of the tail 

 waved with two shades of brown; the chin and 

 throat white ; across the upper part of the breast a 

 few feathers tinged with light brown forming a 

 band; the under surface of the body, the thighs 

 and under tail-coverts white ; legs and toes blue ; 

 claws long, of nearly uniform length, crooked, sharp 

 and solid, colour black ; the under surface of the 

 toes covered with short sharp spines, admirably 

 adapted for holding a smooth and slippery prey." 

 According to Hewitson's plate, the egg appears to 

 be of a dull whitish brown ground, much browner at 

 the longer end, thickly blotched and spotted with 

 dark reddish brown, the blotches being much longer 

 at the thick end. 



PEREGRINE FALCON, Falco Peregrinus. The Pere- 

 grine Falcon, in consequence of the destructive pro- 

 pensities of gamekeepers, is becoming very scarce 

 throughout England. A few pairs, however, continue 

 to breed in different parts of this county. One pair, 

 I have been informed, bred (and I believe continue 

 to breed) on Brean Down, near Weston- super-Mare. 



I have occasionally seen the Peregrine Falcon in 

 the neighbourhood of Burnham : once when on the 

 look-out for wading birds on Stert Island I saw a 

 large hawk, I believe a Peregrine, but I was not near 



