FALCONI UA<: — Tl I K l-'A IA( >.N S. 121 



^[r. I)niiiil(l (iiiiiu claims tlmt tliis Falcon is tiu^ only Hawk tliat is rosi- 

 (lont in tlu! Arctic regions tlirougiiout the year. It is known to tlic Indians 

 by tlie name of I'ijjmnesu, nnil this name is a])plic(l to it liecanse it passes 

 tiie winter with tlieui. It is a very powcrl'nl bird, and eonunits great havoc 

 among the Partridges, so nuieh so that in Tornicr times the Hndson Uay 

 Company gave a reward of a (jnart of nnn to every iiunter who bronght in 

 the head of one of these Falcons. All the other Hawks are only summer 

 visitors. 



Mr. Bannister was informed by the residents of St. Michaels that a Hawk, 

 presumed to be this species, is not unfrcnuent there, thougli he did uot hap- 

 pen to meet with it. On his voyage home, on the 21st of October, IHGd, 

 when off the coast of Kamtschatka, north of llelning's Island, one alighteil 

 in the rigging of the shi]), and eontiinied with tliem for several hours. 



Although very rare in any part of the United States, occasional individ- 

 uals have l)een taken in dill'erent localities, and in one instance a pair was 

 known to breed for several successive seasons in N'erinont. Tliis informa- 

 tion I have from Mr. Clarence King, who, when a lad at school in the town 

 of Dummerston, observed a pair nesting among some high clifls, and in- 

 formed mo of the fact at the time of the occurrence. One of tlie.se birds 

 is recorded by Mr. Lawrence as having been taken on Long Island in the 

 winter of lSr)G. 



Mr. lioardman gives it as occurring near Calais in winter, but very mre. 

 Professor Verrill found them not \incommon in O.vford County, Me., where 

 they were frequently seen during winter, flying about the extensive meadows 

 near Norway ; but they were vt;ry shy and watchful, and it was hardly pos- 

 sible to procure a specimen. It is very unusual in Kastern IMassacimsetts, 

 and only very rarely and occasionally have s])ecimens lieen taken. Mr. 

 Jillson obtained a si)ecimen, in 1840, at Seekonk. One was shot, in 1804, 

 near Providence, li. I., by Mr. Newton Dexter. 



Mr. Audubon relates that, August G, 1833, his son, John W. Audubon, 

 found a nest of this Falcon among some rocky cliffs near P>ras d'Or, Labra- 

 dor, containing four young birds ready to fly, two of which were procured. 

 Tiie nest was placed among the rocks, about fifty i'eet from their summit 

 and more than a hundred from their base. It was inaccessible, but, having 

 been examined from above, was seen to be empty. It was composed of 

 sticks, sea-weeds, and mosses, was about two feet in diameter, and was almost 

 flat. Its edges were strewed with the remains of their food, and beneath 

 the nest was an accumulation of the wings of Ptarmigans, Mormons, llripc, 

 etc., mingled with large pellets of fur, bones, and various substances. 



Their flight is spoken of as similar to that of the Peregrine Falcon, but 

 more elevated, majestic, and rapid. Their cries were also like those of that 

 Falcon, being very loud, shrill, and piercing. Occasionally this bird was 

 seen to alight on one of the higli stakes placed on the shore. There it 

 would stand, in the position of a Tern, for a few moments, and then would 



VOL. III. 16 



