THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 
47 
invited a large party, of which the fair sex, as in the olden time, 
formed a portion, to a day’s hawking ; but on going to the mew, 
it was found that his peregrine falcon, having obtained her liberty, 
had killed and devoured a merlin (Falco cesalon), her partner in 
captivity. The misfortune on such an occasion was not only the 
loss of the merlin, but was two-fold, as the feasting on it prevented 
the falcon’s service in the chase for that day. The female of a 
pair of fine birds once in the possession of Mr. B. Ball, attacked 
and devoured a male taken from the same nest, after they had 
been kept for about a year, but she died a few days afterwards, in 
consequence of the wounds received in the contest. 
Distances to which Trained Falcons sometimes fly , 8fc.~ — In the 
winter of 1820-21, Mr. Sinclaire having lost a trained falcon, knew 
nothing of her for some months, nor until a paragraph appeared 
in a Scotch newspaper, stating that a hawk, which had for some 
time frequented a rookery near Aberdeen, was killed, and on the 
bells attached to her, the name of “ John Sinclaire, Belfast,” was 
engraved. Another of this gentleman’s falcons once left him, 
and took up her abode at a rookery about twelve miles distant 
from his place, remaining there for about six weeks, when she was 
again recaptured. When flown at rooks (Corvus frugilegus) , this 
bird always struck down several before alighting to prey on one. 
A person who was eye-witness to the fact assures me, that he once 
in Scotland saw a trained falcon similarly strike to the ground 
five partridges in succession out of a covey, before stooping to 
any one ; but such occurrences are very rare. 
In the summer of 1835, a female bird was shot near Castle 
Island, comity of Kerry, in the act of killing a crow. A silver 
ring was fixed to her leg, and on it “ J. Campbell, Treesbanks, 
Ayrshire, Scotland,” was engraved. The male bird, on the follow- 
ing day, was shot on the nest, in an old castle, near where the 
female had been killed.* 
We find a similar circumstance recorded in Borlase’s Natural His- 
tory of Cornwall, published in 1758. But all that is said on the sub- 
ject of the species, had better be given. He remarks : — 
* Communicated to me by R. Chute, Esq.; also noticed in the Eourth Annual Report 
of the Dublin Nat. Hist. Society. 
