The Peregrine Falcon 



Taken in Monterey County 



Photo by the Author 



A GLIMPSE OF THE PINNACLES 

 A PAIR OF PEREGRINES HOLD THIS REGION UNDER TRIBUTE 



THE NAME Duck Hawk is really a tribute to the skill and prowess 

 of this highly endowed bird ; but it is belittling, nevertheless, to institute 

 a comparison, however remote, between the noble Peregrine and the multi- 

 tudinous "Hen Hawk" of the vulgar conception. This is the PERE- 

 GRINE FALCON, if you please, the American bird being not different, 

 save for a somewhat whiter breast (which only enhances his beauty) from 

 the "falcon gentil" of song and story, the most courageous, the most 

 spirited of all birds of prey. Like the Prairie Falcon, it secures an in- 

 tended victim either by striking it from above and bearing it down to 

 earth by its acquired momentum, or else by snatching it from the ground 

 with incredible swiftness. Many stories are told of its seizing and making 

 off with wounded game from under the very nose of the hunter; and it is 

 especially fearless in its pursuit of wild ducks, which it is said to follow 

 systematically for days at a time during the migrations. 



It is undeniable that chickens occasionally fall victims to this dark 

 corsair, but Bendire is of opinion that the Falcon rather disdains such 

 stupid quarry, and is sure that they sometimes engage in the pursuit of 



1625 



