Look sharp, now ! Never mind your mother. 29 
getting warm only two of them cared for it, the other two moving 
off and squatting in the eyrie behind him. At Io a.m. the Tiercel 
is still hanging about the eyrie, latterly mostly on C. Now he has 
flown behind the hut on to the edge of the cliff, and there, after a 
good deal of gaping and straining, has ejected a large casting, which 
fell down the cliff-side. He remained there alternately preening 
his feathers and dozing till 10.30, when he flew off, sounding the 
food, or is it the alarm cry? This quickly ceased, and I do not 
know where he is now, but fancy he is on the top of the cliff. I 
do not know where the Falcon is; I have neither seen nor heard 
her for three and a-half hours. The young are not brooded now 
in the heat of the day, and are rather bothered by the flies, and 
occasionally a young falcon will snap viciously at a tormenting blue- 
bottle. At rr a.m. I heard the food cry, which at once roused the 
youngsters and started them looking anxiously round with their 
large, dark eyes. A few moments later the Tiercel arrived, making 
this cry, and alighted on B, but without any food. At 11.10 a.m. 
the food cry is again sounded, more loudly and longer, by one bird, 
and shortly after in comes the Tiercel with the dried breast-bone 
of a bird with a little meat on it, which I recognised as the remains 
of his supper last night. He has hunted it up, and this is his bit of 
falconry! However, he gave the chicks all he could get off it, and 
they took it freely. At 11.20 a.m. there is the food cry again, and 
this time in earnest. It is the Falcon, and the Tiercel answers, 
and shortly after appears with a bird quite plucked except for the 
down ; it is headless, and I think it is a puffin, but I cannot see its 
feet. Five minutes later, while he was feeding the young, and just 
after I had caught sight of the puffin’s legs, the Falcon started, and 
kept up the alarm cry, by which I guessed that the relief-party 
was at hand. The Tiercel, however, goes on feeding the young, 
now with redoubled speed, and he himself swallows one of the 
quarry’s legs, which he had pulled off with great force. The Falcon 
is calling incessantly from above, while the Tiercel tears desperately 
at the puffin and feeds the young, who are also more hurriedly 
taking the proffered bits. This is the only effect the continuous 
warning notes of the Falcon have on the family party. In another 
five minutes the Tiercel suddenly flies off from the unfinished meal. 
