358 BRITISH BffiBS. 



female has the back rufous and with more black bars, and there 

 are also several narrower bands of dark - brown on the tail ; the 

 legs and cere are yellow. The male varies from twelve to 

 fourteen inches, the female usually one or two inches longer. 

 The kestrel nests in a variety of places : very often the nests of 

 rooks and wood-pigeons are taken possession of by them ; others 

 lay their eggs in hollow trees, in holes, in quarries, and cliffs. 

 From four to six eggs are laid, very variable in appearance, 

 some being creamy -white with a few reddish - brown spots, 

 others almost entirely reddish-brown. The kestrel is often 

 looked upon by gamekeepers and others as a destructive bird, 

 and ruthlessly destroyed. Instead of doing harm the wind- 

 hover does a great deal of good, for its food consists mainly 

 of field-mice, voles, and insects, especially grasshoppiers and 

 beetles. Very seldom are birds touched by F. tinmwmulus. It 

 should therefore be strenuously protected. 



The Merlin (F. msalon) and the Hobby (F. subbuteo) are both 

 similarly destroyed, yet they do little harm, if any. The former 

 feeds on small birds, such as larks, pipits, and thrushes; the 

 latter is chiefly an insect-feeder, cockchafers and dragon-flies 

 being its choicest food, although, like the merlin, small birds, 

 especially swallows and martins, are taken by it. 



The Peregrine Falcon (F. peregrinus). — This is one of the 

 finest falcons, and the one most sought after for "hawking." 

 The adult peregrine reaches nineteen inches in length in 

 the female, some three or four inches smaller in the male. 

 The head and cheeks are black, the back being slaty-grey with 

 black bars ; the under parts rufous, barred with black, and the 

 cere and legs yellow. This falcon lays its eggs in nests of 

 the crow, raven, &c., on cliff edges and in hollows scraped out 

 in similar places, as well as on high buildings and monuments. 

 The eggs are laid in April, and vary from two to four in 

 number, nearly two inches long, and often brick-red in colour, 

 many being only freckled with the red. The young falcons 

 are always driven away by the parent towards the end of 



