3016 Notices of New Books. 



Tn some the names are somewhat ambiguous, but in most instances 

 they are sufficiently clear, and the record sufficiently astonishing, al- 

 though the preservation of grouse by the destruction of badgers and 

 otters seems rather problematical. The toe-feathered hawks must be 

 the hawk owl, Strix funerea of Linneus, a bird abundant in the high 

 latitudes of both continents, and one which makes the species of 

 grouse almost exclusively its prey. The only other record of its 

 having been killed in Britain is in the present number of the ' Zoolo- 

 gist.' We now proceed to more agreeable pickings. 



Peregrines. " A friend of Colonel Bonham, the late Colonel John- 

 son of the Rifle Brigade, was ordered to Canada with his battalion, in 

 which he was then a captain, and being very fond of falconry, to 

 which he had devoted much time and expense, he took with him two 

 of his favourite peregrines, as his companions across the Atlantic. 



"It was his constant habit during the voyage to allow them to fly 

 every day, after ( feeding them up' that they might not be induced to 

 take off after a passing sea-gull, or wander out of sight of the vessel. 

 Sometimes their rambles were very wide and protracted. At others, 

 they would ascend to a height as to be almost lost to the view of the 

 passengers, who soon found them an effectual means of relieving the 

 tedium of a long sea-voyage, and naturally took a lively interest in 

 their welfare, but as they were in the habit of returning regularly to 

 the ship, no uneasiness was felt during their occasional absence. At 

 last, one evening, after a longer flight than usual, one of the falcons 

 returned alone : the other, the prime favourite was missing. Day 

 after day passed away, and however much he may have continued to 

 regret his loss, Captain Johnson had at length fully made up his mind 

 that it was irretrievable, and that he should never see her again. Soon 

 after the arrival of the regiment in America, on casting his eyes over 

 a Halifax newspaper, he was struck by a paragragh announcing that 

 the captain of an American schooner had at that moment in his pos- 

 session a fine hawk, which had suddenly made its appearance on 

 board his ship, during his late passage from Liverpool. The idea at 

 once occurred to Captain Johnson that this could be no other than 

 his much-prized falcon, so having obtained leave of absence, he set 

 out for Halifax, a journey of some days. On arriving there, he lost 

 no time in waiting on the commander of the schooner, announcing 

 the object of his journey, and requesting that he might be allowed to 

 see the bird ; but Jonathan had no idea of relinquishing his prize so 

 easily, and stoutly refused to admit of the interview, 'guessing' that 

 it was very easy for an Englisher to lay claim to another man's pro- 



