358 



PEREGRINE FALCON. 



PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco Peregrinus, Aldrovand.) 



ADULT. 



* Faucon Pelerin, Temm. Man. d'Orn. 1. p. 22. — Falco Peregrinus, Lath. Ind. Orn. 



1. p. 33. 72 Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 272.— Briss. 1. p. 341 — Raii, Syn. p. 13. 1.— 



Vigors, Zool. Jour. 2. p. 339 Falco Barbaras, Lath. Ind. Orn. 1. p. 33, 71.— 



Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 272 Le Faucon Pelerin, Buff. Ois. 249. t. 16 — Wander- 



Falke, Bechst. Tasschenb, Deut. p. 33 Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 1. p. 55. — 



Le Lanier, Buff. pi. Enl. 430. adult male Peregrine Falcon, Br. Zool. 1. No. 



48. t. 8 Arct. Zool. 2. No. 97.— Lath. Syn. 1. p. 73 — lb. Supp. p. 18 — 



Lewin'sBr. Birds, 1. t. 12.— Mont. Orn. Diet lb. Supp.— Wale. Syn. 1. t. 



12. — Shaw's Zool. 7. p. 128.— Bewick's Supp. Br. Birds.— Flem. Br. Anim, p. 



49. — Shaw's Zool. 7. p. 128 Tartarian Falcon, Lath. Syn. 1. p. 73. A — Spot- 

 ted Falcon, lb. p. 68.— Pult. Cat. Dorset, p. 2.— Barbary Falcon, Will. (Angl.) 

 p. 81.— Lath. Syn. 1. p. 72.— Great Foot Hawk, Wils. Am. Orn. 1. p. 36. 



YOUNG. 



Falco communis, Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 270.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 1. p. 30. t. 67 — Briss. 



1. p. 321 Falco Hornotinus, Briss. 1. p. 324. A Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 270.— 



Faucon Sors, Buff. Ois. 1. t. 15 lb. pi. Enl. 470. — Yearling Falcon, Lath. 



Syn. 1. p. 65 Falco gibbosus, Briss. 1. p. 324. B. — Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 270— 



Le Faucon Haggard, Buff. Ois. 1. p. 254. — Haggard Falcon, Will. (Angl.) p. 



88 — Lath. Syn. 1. p. 66 Black Falcon, Lath. Syn. 1. p. 67 — Edw. t. 4 — 



Red Falcon. Lath. Syn. 1. p. 69 Red Indian Falcon, Will. (Angl.) p. 81. t. 



9 Lath. Syn. 1. p. 69.— Selby, pi. 15 and 15*. p. 37* 



This beautiful species is about sixteen inches and a half in length ; 

 breadth about thirty-seven. The bill is bluish black, at the base yel- 

 lowish ; gape and cere yellow ; irides dusky : a large space round the 

 eye bare of feathers, pale yellow. The whole upper parts of the 

 plumage dusky black, with a cinereous dash ; the shafts of the feathers 

 black, and the margins slightly edged with ferruginous brown ; the fore- 

 head pale ; back and sides of the neck mixed with yellowish white ; 

 behind the eye a black patch ; from the corner of the mouth a broad 

 black streak pointing downwards ; chin ferruginous white ; the whole 

 under parts the same, with a broad streak of dusky black down the 

 shafts, less conspicuous on the throat and vent : under and upper tail- 

 coverts barred with dusky and ferruginous white, the former dashed 

 with cinereous; quill feathers, dusky black, dashed with cinereous, the 

 inner webs with transverse oblong spots of ferruginous white ; the 

 under coverts of the wings alternately barred black and white ; tail 

 dusky black, dashed with cinereous, with eight pale ferruginous bars, 

 least conspicuous on the outer webs of the exterior feathers ; one of the 

 bars constitutes the extremity. 



The bill and talons of this species are remarkably strong, the former 

 being much hooked, and furnished with a tooth-like process on each side 

 of the upper mandible near the lip, and a corresponding notch in the 

 under mandible, which enables it to cut and tear its prey with greater 

 ease. The wings are very pointed, the second feather being the longest, 

 the first not much inferior, and the tail short, so that the wings, when 

 closed, reach very near the end. The legs short, strong, and pale yel- 



