THE BIRDS OF LAMBAY ISLAND. 157 



bred there. It was the ' Grey Eagle.' Round the nest were 

 numerous remains of hares, grouse, and lambs. It was very 

 large. That year, or the next, some gentlemen came and- got the 

 eggs, and the birds never came back, nor did he ever hear of 

 their being on those mountains since." Lough Bray is in the 

 mountain border between Wicklow and Dublin. Eagles have, no 

 doubt, formerly bred on Lugnaguilia, but I have never seen one 

 there. With reference to the name " Grey Eagle," Macgillivray, 

 speaking of the White-tailed Eagle, says :— " In the Hebrides and 

 Highlands the old bird is named an Iolair ghlas, the grey eagle, 

 and the young an Iolair rlamhach, the striped eagle." 



Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus, Gmelin.— Called the 

 "Main-hawk" at Lambay, where it breeds regularly. In 1881 

 two pairs reared their young, one of which we captured. This 

 nest was about a hundred feet above sea-level, on the cliff south 

 of the Pilot's Hill, on the east side of the island. A cousin of 

 mine, whom we lowered with a rope, described it as being full 

 of Puffins' heads. The brood was three, two of which escaped. 

 This was on June 14th, and a week later a second pair brought 

 away their young at the Seal Hole, about half a mile south, where 

 they bred again the following year. In 1882 two eggs were 

 taken and a young bird left, which had not quitted the nest at 

 the end of May. In previous years they bred sometimes here 

 and sometimes upon Ireland's Eye, six miles south, which they 

 seem to have finally forsaken. Their nest is large and flat, of 

 twigs and grass, lined with hair, wool, or fine weeds. The 

 young are covered for about a fortnight with a thick white down. 

 The eggs frequently are only three in number. Here, as in 

 Donegal (where I have observed nine distinct breeding-places), 

 the nest is found in the closest proximity with Razorbills and 

 other sea-fowl, and this is the more remarkable since the Falcon 

 selects his site and commences to breed before his neighbours 

 do, who fearlessly swarm around the bird who preys upon them. 

 However, the Puffin seems to be his favourite food, and I do not 

 find him on such closely familiar terms. It is probably only for 

 convenience sake and as a quick supply for their young that the 

 Falcon feeds on these birds ; game, especially Grouse, seem to 

 be their favourite food. There is no difficulty in finding the 

 home of the Peregrine. When the visitor approaches their cliff 

 in the breeding-season, as soon as the birds' suspicions are 



