140 NORTH A.MKitU'AN IJIIJDK 



]>arents woro presont, and kept up a continued scM'oaiuing, tlioui^Ii at too 

 p'eat a dislaiicc lor liini to shoot oitlior. lie adds tliat this l)inl is liy no 

 means scaive on Lockliart Hiver, and lie was informed that it also nests 

 ■dhwii the rani](arts and other stee]) hanks ol' the Ujiper Anderson, lliough 

 lie has not Iteen ahle to learn that it has been found nortii of Fort Anderson. 

 In another instanee the nest was on a ledi,'e of elayev mud, — the et,'L;s, in 

 fact, l.vin,if on the bare fjround.and nothiiij^ resembling a nest to be seen. A 

 third nest was found on a ledge of erumbling shale, along the liaiiks of tiie 

 Anderson Jiiver, near the outlet of the Lockhart. This J Lawk, he n,'inarks, 

 so far as he was able to observe, eonstruets no nest whatever. At least, on 

 the .Vnderson iliver, where he fouiid it tolerably abundant, it was found 

 to invariably lay its eggs on a ledge of rock or shale, without making 

 use of any accessory lining or protection, always availing itself of the 

 most inaccessible ledges, lie was of the opinion that they do not breed to 

 the northward of the (iStli jiarallel. Tiiey were also to bo found nesting in 

 occasional pairs along the lime and sandstone banks of the Mackenzie, 

 where early in August, for several siiccijssive years, he noticed the young of 

 the season fully fledged, though still attended by tim parent birds. 



In subsecpient notes, j\Ir. AlacFarlane rejieats his observations that this 

 species constructs no nest, merely laying its eggs on a ledge of shale or 

 other rock. J>otli parents were invariably seen about the sjiot. In some 

 instances the eggs found were much larger than in others. 



Mr. Ball mentions shooting a pair near Viik'koh, on the Yukon liiver, 

 that had a nest on a dead spruce. The young, on the 1st of June, were 

 nearly ready to lly. It was not a common s])ecies, but was found from 

 Nulato to Sitka and Kodiak. 



In regard to general characteristics of this Falcon, they do not ajiparently 

 differ in any essential resiK!cts from those of the better-known Faleo wm- 

 ■muais of the Old World. It flies with immense rapidity, rarely sails in 

 the manner of other Hawks, and then only foi' brief periods and when dis- 

 appointed in some attemjit upon its prey. In such cases, IMr. Audubon 

 states, it merely rises in a broad spiral circuit, in order to reconnoitre a space 

 below. It then Hies swifUy olf in ([uest of ])luiider. These flights are 

 made in the manner of the Wild I'igeon. When it perceives its object, it 

 increases the fla])pings of its wings, and pursues its victim with a surprising 

 rajiidity. It turns, and winds, and Ibllows every change of motion of the 

 object of ]»ursuit with instantaneous (luickness. Occasionally it seizes a 

 bird too heavy to lie managed, and if this bo over the water it drops it, if 

 the distance to land bo too great, and Hies off in })ur.suit of another. IMr. 

 Audubon has known one of this species to come at the re])ort of a gun, and 

 carry olf a Teal not thirty '^teps distant from the sportsman who had killed 

 it. This daring conduct ' a characteristic trait. 



This l)ird is noted for its predatory attacks upon water-fowl, but it does 

 not confine itself to such prey. In the interior, llicliardson states that it 



