PEREGRINE FALCON* 129 



the shaft of each feather, and the remainder, to- 

 gether with the thigh-feathers, white, elegantly 

 barred with blackish brown : the bill is blue, with 

 yellow cere; the legs short and yellow, and the 

 toes long. 



The Peregrine Falcon appears to be a general 

 inhabitant of Europe and Asia. In our own island 

 it is said to breed on the rocks of Llandidno in 

 Caernarmnshire ; and that promontory, according 

 to Mr. Pennant, has long been celebrated for pro- 

 ducing a generous kind, as appears from a letter 

 extant in the Gloddaeth library, from the Lord 

 Treasurer Burleigh to an ancestor of Sir Roger 

 Mostyn, in which his Lordship thanks him for a 

 present of a fine cast of Hawks taken on those 

 rocks, which belong to the family. This species 

 is also common in the north of Scotland. It ap- 

 pears however to have been frequently confounded 

 with the common Falcon by the older writers, and 

 very little dependance can be placed on the general 

 descriptions given in such works; more especially 

 as both this bird and the common Falcon are 

 known to vary so much in their colours according 

 to age, sex, and other circumstances* 



Var. 



BARBARY FALCON. 



The Barbary Falcon, described by some as distinct 

 from the Peregrine, appears, from every investiga- 

 tion that can be made on the subject, to be the self- 

 V. VII. 9 



