Falcon’S. BIRDS. The Peregrin’e Falcon, 
255 
tlie beak is blue, witli a blackish tip and a yellow cere ; 
Richardson, in the Hudson’s Bay territories, “ its 
habitual prey is the ptarmigan, but it also destroys 
plover, ducks, and geese from its great strength and 
courage it was employed by falconers in the pursuit of 
the largest quarries, such as cranes, storks, and herons. 
The breeding places of the Gyrfalcon are all in the 
high northern latitudes ; the best known are the rocky 
coasts of Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador. 
Mr. Anderson, who observed the nest in the latter 
country, describes it as “ composed of sticks, sea- 
weeds, and mosses, about two feet in diameter and 
nearly flat.” In defence of its }'oung the Gyrfalcon 
exhibits great courage, as is shown by tlie following 
anecdote related by Sir John Richardson: — “In tlie 
middle of June, 1821,” says that distinguished natural- 
ist, “a pair of these birds attacked me as I was climbing 
in the vicinity of their nest, which was built on a lofty 
precipice on the borders of Point Lake, in latitude 65^°. 
They flew in circles, uttering loud and harsh screams, 
and alternately stooping with such 
velocity that their motion through the 
air produced a loud rushing noise. 
They struck their claws within an inch 
of my head. I endeavoured, by keeping 
the barrel ot my gun close to my cheek, 
and suddenly elevating its muzzle when 
they were in the act ot striking, to 
ascertain whether they had the power 
of instantaneously changing the direc- 
tion of their rapid course, and found that 
they invariably rose above the obstacle 
with the quickness of thought, showing 
equal acuteness of vision, and power of 
motion.” 
THE PEREGRINE FAICON {Falcopere- 
<jrinns) is the next in point of size to the 
gyrfalcon 'amongst the European species 
of this group ; it is a far more abundant 
bird in all the countries which it fre- 
quents, and especially in Britain. It has 
been noticed breeding on man}' parts of 
the coast of these islands, from the Isle of 
Wight to the Orkneys and Shetlands; 
it occurs, like the gyrfalcon, over the 
northern parts of both hemispheres, but 
extends its range much further to the 
south, being well known in the United 
States, the south of Europe, and in India, 
whilst its occurrence has been recorded 
by good naturalists even at the Straits of 
Magellan, the Cape of Good Hope, and in Australia. 
Mr. Gould, however, regards the Australian bird as a 
distinct species, which he has described under the name 
of the Black-cheeked falcon {F. melanogenys). 
The Peregrine Falcon usually measures from fifteen 
to eighteen inches in length ; the plumage of the top of 
the head and the back of the neck is nearly black, and 
a spot of the same colour occurs on the cheeks beneath 
the eyes; the back is of a bluish-ash colour, with darker 
bars; the primaries are brownish-black, with whitish 
spots on the inner webs ; the front of the neck is 
whitish, spotted with brown, and the rest of the lower 
surface greyish-white, with numerous ilark brown bars ; 
the feet are also yellow, with acute black claws. The 
female of this most elegant of the falcon tribe is con- 
siderably larger than the male ; she was more highly 
valued by the old falconers, by whom the name of 
falcon was especially devoted to her, the male being 
called a tiercel or tiercelet (sometimes corrupted into 
tassel), from his being as they said one-third smaller 
than his partner. From their docility and heauty the 
Peregrines, notwithstanding their comparative abun- 
dance, were always great favourites with the falconers ; 
their qualities were studied with the greatest enthusiasm; 
their persons and nests were protected by legislative 
enactments ; and an extravagantly high value was set 
upon those which combined in the highest degree the 
qualities most in request. Thus, we are told, that in 
the reign of James L, one Sir Thomas Monson paid a 
thousand pounds (an enormous sum in those days) for a 
single cast (or couple) of these hawks. The female of 
falcon, as she was termed, was flown at quarries of large 
size and considerable strength, such as herons, ducks, 
and wild geese, and from her great strength and courage 
was well adapted for this pursuit. Sir John Sebright, the 
great modern authority upon hawking, gives the follow- 
ing interesting account of the chase of the heron as prac- 
tised in Norfolk : — He says, “ The herons go out iti the 
morning to rivers and ponds at a very considerable dis- 
tance in search of food, and return to the heronry towards 
the evening. It is at this time that the falconers place 
themselves in the open country, down wind of the 
heronry; so that when the herons are intercepted on 
their return home, they are obliged to fly against the 
Fig. 100. 
Tlie Perefjrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus.) 
