On Birds in North Northumberland, by T. H. Gibb. 141 



the turnip fields lying contiguous to the coast, although no 

 small number were observed further inland. I had an oppor- 

 tunity of examining many specimens, and found a marked differ- 

 ence to exist both in size and colour. The females I found a 

 little larger than the males, and in many instances much 

 brighter in hue. This last feature, no doubt, arose from the 

 age of the respective birds ; the fully matured female being 

 richer in tint than the immature male, and vice versa, the latter 

 when fully matured being brighter than the former. The 

 facial disc also varied considerably, being much more promi- 

 nent in some specimens than in others ; while the auricles 

 were in one quite conspicuous, in another scarcely discernible ; 

 results which may arise from the nervous temperament of the 

 birds when killed — and the contraction or expansion of the 

 feathers depicting the suddenness or otherwise of death — circum- 

 stances which may have been the reason why the species has 

 been multiplied by some observers. I was much struck with the 

 absence of food in the stomachs of those birds that I examined ; 

 but in one or two cases I found the remains of finches. 



As I am writing this, a very fine 



Peregrine Falcon {Falco peregrinus) has reached me, and I 

 have it before me now. It is a female, and one of the finest 

 specimens I have seen. Its length from tip of tail to bill is 

 19 inches, expanse of wings 3 ft. 6 inches, weight 2 lbs. It 

 was shot yesterday, the 12th inst., by the gamekeeper of Mr 

 Moffat, of Beanley, in a wood contiguous to the river Breamish, 

 while in the act of pouncing upon a Wood-pigeon. This capture 

 reminds me that another specimen of this noble bird was killed 

 in the spring of 1876, in Hulne Park. 



T. H. GIBB. 



Alnwick, March 13th, 1877. 



