THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 47 



invited a large party, of which the fair sex, as in the olden time, 

 formed a portion, to a day's hawking ; but on going to the mew, 

 it was found that his peregrine falcon, having obtained her liberty, 

 had killed and devoured a merlin {Falco asalon), her partner in 

 captivity. The misfortune on such an occasion was not only the 

 loss of the merlin, but was two-fold, as the feasting on it prevented 

 the falcon's service in the chase for that day. The female of a 

 pair of fine birds once in the possession of Mr. R. Ball, attacked 

 and devoured a male taken from the same nest, after they had 

 been kept for about a year, but she died a few days afterwards, in 

 consequence of the wounds received in the contest. 



Distances to which Trained Falcons sometimes fly, fyc.< — In the 

 winter of 1820-21, Mr. Sinclaire having lost a trained falcon, knew 

 nothing of her for some months, nor until a paragraph appeared 

 in a Scotch newspaper, stating that a hawk, which had for some 

 time frequented a rookery near Aberdeen, was killed, and on the 

 bells attached to her, the name of " John Sinclaire, Belfast," was 

 engraved. Another of this gentleman's falcons once left him, 

 and took up her abode at a rookery about twelve miles distant 

 from his place, remaining there for about six weeks, when she was 

 again recaptured. When flown at rooks (Corvus frugilegtis) , this 

 bird always struck down several before alighting to prey on one. 

 A person who was eye-witness to the fact assures me, that he once 

 in Scotland saw a trained falcon similarly strike to the ground 

 five partridges in succession out of a covey, before stooping to 

 any one ; but such occurrences are very rare. 



In the summer of 1835, a female bird was shot near Castle 

 Island, county of Kerry, in the act of killing a crow. A silver 

 ring was fixed to her leg, and on it " J. Campbell, Treesbanks, 

 Ayrshire, Scotland," was engraved. The male bird, on the follow- 

 ing day, was shot on the nest, in an old castle, near where the 

 female had been killed.* 



We find a similar circumstance recorded in Borlase's Natural His- 

 tory of Cornwall, published in 1758. But all that is said on the sub- 

 ject of the species, had better be given. He remarks : — 



* Communicated to me by R. Chute, Esq.; also noticed in the Fourth Annual Report 

 of the Dublin Nat. Hist. Society. 



