Duck-Hawk 215 



in its way. It places its nest usually on a rocky ledge, but occasionally in trees, 

 then often occupying abandoned nests of other birds, and it has been reported 

 as rarely nesting on the ground in marshes. The nest may be a mere hollow 

 scratched in the scant soil of a cliff, or it may be of considerable size. The eggs 

 are from two to four in number, yellowish white, spotted and mottled with reddish 

 brown and orange-brown. The Peregrine is still a not uncommon species in the 

 British Islands, where it is confined to the rugged, rocky coasts. 



Duck-Hawk. In North America its place is taken by two subspecies, the 

 Duck-Hawk (F. peregrinus anatum) and Peale's Falcon (F. p. pealei}. The 

 former, which differs from the Old World bird by the usually unspotted chest, 

 ranges throughout the whole of America, south as far, at least, as Chile, and 

 possibly finding its way into eastern Asia. It is found mainly in the vicinity 

 of water, feeding largely upon water fowl and shore birds, but also taking 

 hares, Ptarmigan, Grouse, Quail, Pigeons, and poultry. Of twenty stomachs 

 examined by Dr. Fisher, "7 contained poultry or game birds; 9, other birds; 

 i, mice; 2, insects, and 4 were empty." Of their appearance on the wing, 

 Major Bendire writes: "Its flight, when once fairly started in pursuit of its 

 quarry, is amazingly swift ; it is seemingly an easy matter for it to overtake 

 even the fleetest of birds, and when once in its grasp, resistance is useless. I 

 have seen this Falcon strike a Cinnamon Teal almost within gunshot of me, 

 kill it apparently instantly from the force of the shock, and fly away with it 

 as easily, or without visible struggle, as if it had been a sparrow instead 

 of a bird of its own weight." That it also captures small birds is shown 

 by the fact that remains of Robins, Thrushes, Catbirds, and Warblers have 

 been found in its stomach, and Dr. J. G. Cooper says, "I have seen one pursue 

 a Swallow, and turning feet upward seize it flying with perfect ease." It is, 

 in fact, the terror of all birds from the size of a Mallard Duck down. The nest 

 of this subspecies is usually placed on some projecting ledge or crag, often in 

 an inaccessible position on the face of a cliff, or occasionally in a hollow tree. 

 When in the former position it is composed of a few coarse sticks and twigs, 

 just enough to prevent the eggs from rolling out. The two to four eggs are 

 creamy buff, usually quite evenly overlaid with chocolate-brown, on which are 

 blotches and spots of brown, rufous, or brick-red. The birds are much attached 

 to the nesting site and return year after year, even when much persecuted, and 

 they are also bold in defending their eggs or young, flying viciously at the intruder. 



Peale's Falcon is found on the Aleutian Islands, from which point it extends 

 west to the Commander Islands and south along the Pacific coast to Oregon. 

 It differs from the two other forms in having the general coloration very much 

 darker, and the chest heavily spotted with blackish. Its habits are similar to 

 those of the other forms. In Chile and the Falkland Islands is found another 

 ally of the Peregrine, namely, Cassin's Falcon ( F. cassini), while in the Old World 

 there are also a number of related species, among them being the Lesser Falcon 

 (F. minor] of northeast Africa, which straggles as far south as the Cape, the 

 Shahin Falcon ( F. peregrinator) of the Indian peninsula, and the Black-cheeked 

 Falcon (F. melanogenys] of Australia, so called from the deep brownish black 



