LANNEE FALCON. 37 
educated they take them out, and letting two fly at once, one immediately 
rushes down upon the nose of the poor gazelle and fixes therein its 
claws; of course the animal is alarmed, and stopping, uses every effort 
to shake off the bird; but the beating of its wings almost blinds the 
poor creature, and bewilders it still more. When the first bird is shaken 
off the other takes its place, and thus the dogs have plenty of time to 
come up. This same plan is said to be used in taking the wild boar 
and wild ass. 
The plumage of the young Lanner resembles that of the young 
Saker, with the following exceptions: — The markings of the feathers 
on the top of the head are not so broad; the whitish colours of the 
edges- of these feathers predominate. The reddish tint of the nape is 
more ''prononce." The light edges of the upper parts of the bird are 
less distinct, and not so brown as in the Saker : on the contrary, these 
parts are covered with small spots of a very pale red brown irregularly 
scattered here and there — subject to variety in different birds. The 
ground colour of the tail is paler than in the Saker, but it is always 
broken as much upon the external as the internal barbs of the tail 
quills, by transverse bands, to the number of eleven or twelve, the 
colour of which incomplete bands is like that of the markings upon the 
wings. The spots upon the superior parts of the bird are smaller than 
in the Saker. The lesser wing coverts have dark longitudinal markings, 
the least covered with whitish spots, generally of an orbicular form; 
on the greater coverts these spots are transverse and arranged in bands. 
In adult plumage the tints of the Lanner have some analogy to those 
of the Peregrine and Jer-Falcon, but are at once distinguished by the 
beautiful reddish tinge of the nape and under part of the head. At 
this age the front of the forehead is whitish. The reddish brown fea- 
thers on the nape and upper part of the head have in the centre a 
longitudinal marking of blackish brown, larger on the middle feathers 
of the nape. The moustache is rather large but neatly defined. The 
feathers in the auditory region of a whitish tint strongly approaching 
to reddish yellow, have longitudinal dark markings, which nearly con- 
ceal the ground colour. Eyelids surrounded with black feathers, and 
a badly-marked streak of the same tint prolongs itself from the eyes 
beyond the region of the ears, where it disappears on the side of the 
nape. The colour of the ground of the other inferior parts of the bird 
is a blackish brown, like dark slate, with transverse markings of a 
bright bluish grey colour, which take the form of bands on the scap- 
ularies, greater coverts, secondaries, and rump, but disappear on the 
lesser wing coverts. The colour of these bands is bright upon the 
back and rump, but of a marbled brown on the other parts, growing 
