THE PEBEGBINE FALCON. 
This noble bird, which, both in elegance of plumage and in 
courage and strength, is but little inferior to the ger-falcon, 
has almost as many aliases as the most accomplished vaga- 
bond could desire — the peregrine falcon, the blue hawk, the 
red tercel, the grey hawk, &c. &c. The former is, however, 
the usual name given to it by most naturalists ; and, moreover, 
it possesses the advantage of a simple meaning — peregrine, 
from the Latin word peregrinus, a wanderer ; therefore, as the 
peregrine falcon I beg to introduce him to the reader. 
The colour of the male bird is, on the upper parts of the 
body, bluish grey; the head and back of the neck are black, 
tinged with bluish grey; the back is blue, deepening into 
black towards the tail. According to Mr. McGillivray, who 
has taken some pains to investigate the matter, the peregrine 
falcon does not complete its moult until November ; and, more- 
over, he is of opinion that, as with the eagle, the falcon renews 
its plumage at all seasons of the year. Like the ger-falcon, 
the peregrine falcon is remarkable for the velocity of its flight, 
being known to travel a hundred and fifty miles an hour. 
It is occasionally taken out at sea, many hundred miles from 
any land, and in 1838, at a meeting of the Zoological Society, 
a peregrine falcon, and with it a letter, was received from 
Captain Bobertson, commander of the ship Exmouth. The 
letter stated, — “ The accompanying hawk was caught on board 
the Exmoutli, on the 12th of February last, on her passage 
from Bengal to London, and when the ship was about three 
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