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Frederick D. Welch — Erlanger's Falcons



ERLANGER’S FALCONS


By Frederick D. Welch


During visits to tlie London Zoological Gardens in 1920 and 1921

I watched two of the above from North-West Africa, the last visit

being in August, and as they were nice-looking birds it seemed to be

worth writing a description of them. But writing accounts of active

healthy Falcons which are often on the move about their cage in

flight is by no means so easy a task as writing from museum

specimens which can be handled ; and this must be my excuse if

there should be any omission in the following account.


In general colour they were brown, darker in shade on back and

wings, with neck and head paler, the latter having the crown dark

anteriorly, paler posteriorly, with some narrow longitudinal dark

streaks, and a central dark patch at back of head.


On the face were two dark conspicuous marks, one on each side,

starting about i inch below the eyes and running downwards and

outwards as they descended. The iris was dark, beak blackish.


The breast was pale in general colour, but streaked with dark

longitudinal blotches, and the pale feathers around legs had thin

dark streaks down them (apparently in centre of each feather): the

feet and hare metatarsus being yellow. The tails were dark with

pale crossbars.


In flight they moved gracefully and rapidly, and on one occasion

a Falcon captured a Sparrow just before I arrived at its cage, and

when seen by me was holding the prey in its toes quite dead.


I did not myself see the chase, but Avas told by a man Avho did

that the Falcon proceeded silently and uttered no noise before the

flight, in this agreeing Avith the silent dash of the Corean Sea Eagle

(Haliaetus branichii) already recorded (Avicultural Magazine,

1920, p. 55). Judging from these cases and others seen by me in

wild state, the feet of Falcons and Eagles are alone used in the

actual killing of birds, the grip of toes stopping the heart and lung

action of the prey, and the beak is not used as Avith Bateleur Eagles

and others against poisonous snakes (Avicultural Magazine, 1921,



