388 THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 



General Range. — Arctic America, breeding from Newfoundland northvvard, 

 and migrating in winter to tlie northern borders of tlie United States. Occasional 

 in England. 



Range in Ohio. — Very rare, or casual in winter. 



THIS rare winter visitor looks and acts like a Hawk, and is strictly 

 diurnal in its habits, but it has the soft noiseless plumage which marks -the 

 Owls. When seen southerly it is most frequently at look-out upon the top 

 of a stub. If frightened, it dives down almost to the ground before taking 

 rapid flight. 



Its food consists chiefly of insects and rodents, but it is a spirited bird 

 and quite equal to despatching game of good size. 



The nest is said to be frequently made upon the top of broken stubs. 

 Others are in natural cavities in trees, and others still are placed in the thick 

 foliage of pine trees, well up. 



'The note is a shrill cry which is uttered generally while the bird is 

 on the wing" (Fisher). 



No. 172. 



PEREGRINE FALCON. 



.\. O. U. No. 356. Faico peregrinus anatum (Bonap.). 



Synonym. — Duck Hawk. 



Description. — Adult: Above dark bluish ash, or slaty black with a glaucous 

 "bloom," the feathers lighter edged, and the larger ones obscurely barred; top of 

 head appreciably darker, — almost black ; wings long, and pointed by the second 

 quill, the first notched about two inches from the end ; primaries distinctly barred 

 on the inner webs with ochraceous ; tail and upper tail-coverts narrowly barred 

 with ashy-gray and blackish, whitish-tipped ; area below eye, produced downward 

 as broad "moustache," sooty black ; throat and chest white or buffy, immacu- 

 late .or nearly so; remaining under parts white or buffy heavily spotted 

 on breast with blackish crescentic marks, lengthening into braces and bars below ; 

 tarsus feathered two-fifths of the way down ; toes and claws lengthened ; bill blue- 

 black, but with cere and much of base yellow ; feet yellow ; claws black. Imma- 

 ture : Above sooty brown, plain or with some glaucous bloom with advancing 

 age; feathers not barred, but more broadly and distinctly edged with ochraceous 

 bufif ; top of head lighter than back by reason of ochraceous and whitish admixture ; 

 bars of tail obsolete on central feathers ; below heavily striped with sooty brown, 

 or if barred, only on flanks ; chest never immaculate, — narrowly streaked with sooty 

 brown; prevailing color of under parts deeper bufify or ochraceous than in adults. 

 Adult male length 15.50-18.00 (393.7-457.2); wing 11. 50-13.00 (292.1-330.2); 

 tail 6.00-7.75 (152.4-196.9) ; culmen .77 (19.6). Adult female length 18.00-20.00 

 (457.2-508.) ; wing 13.50-14.75 (342.9-374.7) ; tail 7.00-9.25 (177.8-235.) ; culmen 

 •95 (24-I)- 



