8 4 



THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



By ftrmitiitf. / firty Lttfh fimlrrttn^ Ktg. 



PEREGRINE FALCON 



Jlfavouriu in falconry 



is proved by the fact that they 

 are not seldom found dead 

 from eating poisoned rats laid 

 out for magpies. One in- 

 stance is on record where a 

 kestrel was taken with its 

 claws entangled in the fur of 

 a stoat, which fiercely de- 

 fended itself. 



Of the PYGMY FALCONS 

 there are several species, 

 ranging from the eastern 

 Himalaya, through Tenas- 

 serim and Burma, to the 

 Malay Islands and the Phil- 

 ippines. The smallest is the 

 RED-LEGGED FALCONET of 

 Nepal, Sikhim, and Burma. 

 It feeds largely upon insects, 

 such as dragon-flies, beetle-., 

 and butterflies, hawking them 

 with a swallow-like speed. 

 ' >< i asionally the members of 

 this little group are said to 



beauty, and at one time were much in request by 

 falconers, probably largely on account of their 

 appearance, for they lack the power and spirit of 

 the peregrine, (irey and black and white and 

 black are distinctive colours of the various 

 species, which are inhabitants of northern 

 regions. 



The KESTREL, or WIND-IKIVEK. is one of 

 the commonest birds of prey, much and most 

 unjustly persecuted by gamekeepers. Like the 

 peregrine falcon, the kestrel does not build a 

 nest, but takes possession of the deserted nests 

 of crows and magpies, or deposits its eggs on the 

 bare earth of a recess in some cliff or quarry 

 which is overhung by a projecting shelf of rnrk. 

 Occasionally a hole in a tree is chosen, the 

 then resting on the rotten wood at the bottom. 

 That the kestrel is of a more confiding .li-po-i 

 tion than the majority of its tribe seems to be 

 proved by the fact that it will often deposit its 

 eggs in nesting-boxes, if these are placed in suit- 

 able spots. 



The food of the kestrel appears to COHMM 

 mainly of mice, but frogs, earthworms, grass- 

 hoppers, cockchafers, and other beetles are also 

 taken. Kestrels will also eat dead animals, as 



/ /!/* if Ottimar 



SPECTAC1 in OWL 



A South American bird vittk a wmrwkat rcmartatli cclorj 



