122 FAMILIAR WILD BIRDS. 



was once associated. Some attempts have very lately 

 bean made to revive the sport of falconry upon Salis- 

 bury Plain ; but the modern spirit is too strongly 

 against all such proceedings to hold out much prospect of 

 success. 



In Great Britain the Gyr Falcon is found in the north 

 of Scotland and in the Shetland and Orkney islands. 

 Specimens are occasionally found further south, and a 

 very fine specimen was shot near Brighton in 1884; but 

 its principal haunts are in the wild, rocky parts of Ice- 

 land, Greenland, Lapland, Russia, Sweden, and Siberia, 

 and also in the parallel portions of America and Northern 

 Asia. 



The flight of this bird is remarkable for its rapidity, 

 and the apparent ease with which it is sustained. When 

 pursuing its prey, it rises high in the air above its victim, 

 and then suddenly swoops down upon it with unerring 

 aim and force. Should, however, the first attack be un- 

 successful, the bird passes on, rises again in the air, and 

 again repeats the swoop. 



The food of the Gyr Falcon is invariably captured 

 alive, and consists of the smaller animals and larger birds. 

 It is a very unscrupulous feeder ; and amongst the most 

 common articles of its diet may be mentioned rabbits, 

 young hares, grouse, partridges, ptarmigan, curlews, 

 whimbrels, ducks, plovers, and numerous other land and 

 water birds. 



Some high inaccessible cliff or crevice in a rock, either 

 on the sea-coast or near some inland lake, is the spot usually 

 selected as a nesting place. The nest is built of sticks and 

 roots, and lined with wool, moss, or seaweed. Two or 

 three eggs are generally laid: they are of a light yellowish- 



