282 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



that it was seen pursuing the Gulls until they were exhausted before the 

 Hawk could secure its prey, showing that their endurance exceeds their speed. l 



Turner obtained a single specimen at St. Michael, Alaska, May 15, 1877, 

 and says that it is not a common bird in that vicinity, and oftener seen in 

 the spring than at other seasons. In his notes "On the Birds of Labrador 

 and Ungava," he states: "This beautiful Falcon is common throughout the 

 entire region, although more numerous in the sparsely wooded tracts and in 

 the neighborhood of high rugged hills. This species is known as the Par- 

 tridge Hawk by the English-speaking people, who apply the name of Par- 

 tridge to both species of Lagopus and to Dendragapus indiscriminately. In 

 the vicinity of Fort Chimo it is not at all rare in winter, but so wary 

 that but one specimen was secured. 



"A pair was building their nest on the side of the bluff known as Hawk's 

 Head, some 2 miles north of Fort Chimo. I undertook to ascend the bluff 

 by means of a rope drawing me up a distance of 168 feet, where I had nothing 

 to cling to but the rope, and after whirling around and around dozens of 

 times (as the nest was on a part which could not be reached from above), 

 reached the spot where the nest was located. I was then so dizzy that I 

 was glad to find a resting place, and when I attained the site I put my foot 

 directly on the half completed nest, composed of a few sticks and a great 

 quantity of dry grasses, forming a bulk about 15 inches across the top and 

 3 inches high. The birds were circling and screaming a short distance off 

 while a man was firing at them. They deserted the locality and were not 

 again seen. 



" This Falcon is extremely shy, and when sitting with its pure white 

 breast toward the hunter will often escape detection on the snow, as it is far 

 more numerous from September to April than at other times. The natives 

 assured me that they repair to the rugged mountains in the vicinity of Cape 

 Chidley (the northernmost point of Labrador) to breed, and that they fed 

 their young on the Rock Ptarmigan, which also seek that region for the 

 same purpose. The manner of flight is by rapid beats of the wings, fol- 

 lowed by a short sail." 



The nesting habits of the White Gyrfalcon would appear, from what 

 little we know on the subject, to be in no way different from those of the 

 other members of this genus, excepting that they probably nest almost 

 exclusively on rocky cliffs near the seacoast. Few suitable trees, even in 

 the more southern portions of their summer range, would be found in these 

 northern regions sufficiently large to hold their nests. As a rule, these rocky 

 cliffs are the summer homes of innumerable waterfowl, on whose young, 

 as well as on Ptarmigan, they prey to a great extent during the season of 

 reproduction. 



The usual number of eggs to a set is probably three or four, and they 

 are not likely to be deposited much before May 1. 



1 Extracts from Nelson's Report on Natural History Collections made in Alaska, 1877-1881, pp. 145,14b. 



