20 BRITISH BIRDS. 



The Jer-Falcon is an arctic Peregrine, Avith all the dash and courage of 

 that bird. It is the only Hawk resident in the arctic regions. Its keen 

 eye, rapid powers of flight, and capability of being tamed make it a 

 favourite with the falconer, and the terror of the weaker birds. Its home 

 is the tundra, beyond the limits of forest-growth, where it selects the 

 rocks and the mountains on which to breed. The arctic form of this bird 

 {F. candicans) is clad in a snowy dress, protective to a degree amongst the 

 eternal snows of its northern home. This protective dress, however, is not 

 to shield the bird from danger ; for a bird of such prowess need fear no foe. 

 Its protective colouring serves to conceal it from its prey, and enables it 

 to sit watching for it, or steal upon it, unseen. The arctic form of the 

 Jer-Falcon used to fetch the highest price for hawking, as it was considered 

 the boldest bird, possessing the most rapid powers of flight. Holboll states 

 that the food of the Jer-Falcon in Greenland is principally composed of 

 Ptarmigan and ^^'ater-fowl, and that on one occasion a bird was once seen 

 with a young Kittiwake in each foot, and another was observed with a 

 Purple Sandpiper in each foot. Although such instances would seem to 

 show how successful this bird is in the chase, still Holboll says that the 

 Jer-Falcons were not very expert at catching his pigeons. Richardson, 

 who observed the Jer-Falcon in Hudson^s Bay, states that its food is 

 Ptarmigan, Plover, Ducks, and Geese, mostly the former. 



The flight of the Jer-Falcon is spoken of by all who have had the oppor- 

 tunity of witnessing it as grand and powerful in the extreme. Many of 

 its motions resemble those of the Peregrine ; and if an intruder should 

 chance to threaten its nest, it will often fly round in circles with such 

 velocity as to produce a rushing sound as it darts through the air. Jer- 

 Falcons have been seen perched on the high stakes near the shore, in a 

 similar position to that which a Tern ^vould choose, to pounce upon the 

 PufiBus sitting unconcernedly at the entrance of their burrows close at 

 hand. During the summer mouths the Jer-Falcon ofttimes takes up its 

 abode near some bird-rock, to prey upon its feathered denizens. 



Holboll states that he found young Jer-Falcons moulting throughout the 

 winter j and he has determined by dissection that birds of this species 

 breed the following season after their birth. In Greenland the breeding- 

 season of the Jer-Falcon is in June. The nests are sometimes placed on 

 the loftiest clifl's, either near the sea or further inland, and sometimes on 

 the tops of pines and other trees. In Iceland they are always on the 

 rocks. Out of eighteen nests taken by MacFarlauc on the Anderson river, 

 north of the Great Bear Lake, sixteen were on the tops of pines or other 

 trees from ten to twcnty-flve feet high ; one nest was on a ledge of rocks ; 

 and the other was built on the rough ground on the side of a steep and 

 high hill. The earliest eggs were found on the 27th of May ; but eggs are 

 often found as late as the end of June. These early nests are often com- 



