338 INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY. 



The Peregrine Falcon resembles the Golden Eagle in the 

 indifference evinced occasionally towards sportsmen and dogs. 

 An instance of this is thus narrated by Mr. Thompson: 

 " Mr. Sinclaire, when once exercising his dogs on the Belfast 

 mountains, towards the end of July, preparatory to Grouse- 

 shooting, saw them point; and, on coming up, he startled a 

 male Peregrine Falcon off a Grouse (Tetrao Scoticus) just 

 killed by him; and very near the same place my friend came 

 upon the female bird, also on a Grouse. Although the 

 sportsman lifted both the dead birds, the Hawks continued 

 flying about; and on the remainder of the pack, which lay 

 near, being sprung by the dogs, either three or four more 

 Grouse were struck down by them, and thus two and a half 

 or three brace were obtained by means of these wild birds, 

 being more than had ever been procured out of a pack of 

 Grouse by his trained Falcons." 



We record, from the same source, another illustrative 

 anecdote: " In October, 1833, a female Peregrine Falcon of 

 Mr. Sinclaire 's a bird of that year, and, consequently, but a 

 few months old got loose in the hawk-yard, and killed a male 

 of her own species, a year or two older than herself, and which 

 had the power of moving at least a yard from his block. She 



had nearly eaten him when 

 a person entered the yard 

 to feed them, which he 

 did once daily, at a regular 

 hour. This female bird was 

 4 full fed' the day before, 

 and had never got more 

 than one meal in the 

 day." 



The Hawks, as distin- 

 guished from the true 

 Falcons, have the legs 

 more slender, the wings 

 shorter, the fourth quill 

 the longest, and the mid- 

 dle toe much longer than 

 the lateral ones. There 

 are but two British species, 



Fig. 2GO.-Gos, Ji ,v,, th e Gos-hawk (Fig. 260) 



and the Sparrow-hawk, 



