2.2 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



although it would be beyond the limits of the present work to enter deeply into the subject, a 

 few words must be said about it here. The art of falconry probably came from the East, where 

 it is still practised, and an ancient bas-relief was found by Sir Austen Layard, among the ruins 

 of Khorsabad, depicting a falconer with a Hawk on his wrist, thus proving the antiquity of 

 the pursuit. In Great Britain it was formerly much in vogue, and in Salvin and Brodrick's 

 work on "Falconry in the British Islands" there will be found an interesting resume of tl:e 

 art, as performed in Great Britain, from ancient times down to the present. It is lamentable to 



think of the way in which these noble 

 birds, once the pride and favourite of 

 monarchs, are now shot down and classed 

 as vermin. The strict way of preserving 

 game which has been common of late years, 

 and the general use of firearms, have, n-j 

 doubt, been the chief causes of the destruc- 

 tion of the larger Falcons, and it will take 

 some time to disabuse the vulgar prejudices 

 of gamekeepers, and of some proprietors, 

 as to the mistake that is made in killing 

 off every kind of raptorial bird indis- 

 criminately. A protest which was penned 

 by Mr. G. E. Freeman, in his " Falconry," 

 is worthy of reproduction here : " All 

 Hawks, when they have a choice, invari- 

 ably choose the easiest flight. This fact 

 is of the last importance in the matter 

 before us. I confess that I at once give it 

 the chief place in this argument. Who 

 has not heard of the Grouse disease 1 It 

 has been attributed, sometimes respec- 

 tively, and sometimes collectively, to 

 burnt heather ; to heather poisoned from 

 the dressings put on Sheep ; to the Sheep 

 themselves cropping the tender shoots and 

 leaves of the plant, and thus destroying 



PEREGRINE FALCON. tue Grouse's food ; to the tape-worm ; to 



shot which has wounded but not killed ; 



and perhaps to other things besides. It may be, 1 doubt not, correctly referred to any or to all of 

 these. Of this, however, there appears no question that from whatever cause it springs it is 

 firopagated. A diseased parent produces a diseased child. Now, I say that when every Hawk is 

 killed upon a large manor, the balance of Nature is forgotten, or ignored ; and that Nature will 

 not overlook an insult. SJie would have kept her wilds healthy; destroy her appointed instru- 

 ments, and beware of her revenge ! " 



The Peregrine Falcon has always been celebrated with falconers for its superior dash and courage. 

 The female is much the larger and more powerful bird, and is called the " Falcon," the male being 

 known as the " Tiercel." The young birds reared from the nest are called " Eyes," and the immature 

 specimens, from their more rufous colour, are distinguished as the "Red Falcon" and the "Red 

 Tiercel." When a bird has been caught wild in the full plumage it is called "Haggard." The 

 principal flight of the " Falcon " was at the Heron, and many anecdotes are told of the encounters 

 between these two antagonists in .mid-air. The evidence of Falconers, however, goes to show that the 

 impalement of the Hawk by the Heron's bill is a rare occurrence, and it is only when the birds come 

 to the ground that the presence of the man is required to rescue the Falcons from their dangerous foe. 

 The Heron, on being pursued, endeavours to avoid his pursuer by mounting high into the air, the 

 Falcon meanwhile doing his best to rise above him and strike the quarry to the ground. Generally, 



