. SOUTH AMElilCAN BIRUH. 223 



collected by Walter E. Bryant, near Mt. Diablo, California, exhibit the following 

 dimensions: 2.00x1.56, 1.99x1.56, 1.98x1.59, 2.11x1.57, 1.93x1.56. These were laid 

 upon the sand in a cavity in a large boulder. They are handsome eggs, creamy 

 ground color, almost wholly obscured with specks, spots and cloudings or cinna- 

 mon and vinaceous-cinnamon. The second set is of two eggs, taken in Sweetwater 

 county, Wyoming, May 1, 1887; the nest was on a rocky mound, along the Big 

 Sandy River. The eggs are quite different from each other in appearance; In one 

 the ground color is cinnamon, sprinkled all over with Mars brown; size, 2.13x1.66. 

 The other has a ground color of russet, sprinkled all over with burnt umber; size, 

 2.14x1.68. The third set consists of three eggs. They were collected May 6, 1888, 

 in Sweetwater county, Wyoming. The nest was on a rock on the bank of the Big 

 Sandy River. The ground color varies from a deep cream to a hazel, and it is almost 

 wholly obscured with cinnamon, rufous and light chestnut. They measure 2.28x 

 1.68; 2.10x1.64; 2.40x1.67. 



356. DUCK HAWK. Falco pereffrinus aiiatum (Bonap.) Geog. Dist.— Whole 

 of North America. 



The Peregrine Falcon, Great-footed Hawk, or Wandering Falcon, as this species 

 Is variously called, is distributed throughout North America at large, but it can 

 hardly be considered common anywhere. The Duck Hawk breeds as far south as 

 latitude 36°, and usually in mountainous regions, or in the vicinity where water fowl 

 are abundant. The nests are placed in natural cavities in trees, and on the sides 

 of rocky cliffs. Colonel N. S. Goss states that this Hawk is not an uncommon 

 resident of Kansas, and that it begins laying early in March. It is known to bree4 

 in many of the rocky regions and along the coasts of the New England States; in 

 Pennsylvania, New York and in Michigan. It has been found nesting in the Ander- 

 son River regions in Arctic America, in Alaska and on the coast of Labrador. This 

 species is often called Bullet Hawk, being the terror of ducks and other water fowl, 

 pursuing and striking them down while on the wing, often seizing the bird which 

 the hunter has killed, carrying it off when almost within his i;each. The eggs of the 

 Duck Hawk are three or four in number, and measure 2.15x1.62. They vary from 

 ereamyrwhite to reddish-brown, spotted, blotched and dotted with reddish-brown 

 and chocolate of varying shades. Mr. Crandall writes me as follows concerning a 

 series of this bird's eggs in his cabinet: "A set of four of this species in my collec- 

 tion, taken by R. H. Beck, in Alameda county, California, April 21, 1896, was taken 

 from a nest on a narrow ledge of a cliff twenty feet below the top; no regular nest 

 was made, only a few small sticks on either side of the eggs. The bird was flushed 

 and incubation was begun. These eggs are of the dark, heavily marked type, and 

 show the following measurements: 2.11x1.64, 2.28x1.66, 2.15x1.67 and 2.10x1.68 

 inches. Another set of three eggs from Greenland measure 1.99x1.55, 2.02xl-.58 and 

 1.96x1.61. These are also heavily marked. Thinking perhaps it would be interest- 

 ing, I herewith give the average size of my series of the European Duck Hawk. 

 Seven sets of four, twenty-eight eggs, average 2.08x1.63. These were carefully se- 

 lected from a number of sets." 



356a. PEALE'S PALCdU. Falco pereffrinus pealei Ridgw. Geog. Dist. — 

 Aleutian and Commander Islands, south along the Pacific Coasts to Oregon. 



Dr. Leonard Stejneger states that the "Black Hawk," as it is called, is a com- 

 mon resident of Cooper and Bering Islands, breeding in high and inaccessible cliffs. 

 The eggs are not described,, but are doubtless similar to those of F .pereffrinus. 



