THE ICELAND OR JEPw FALCON. 
83 
probable that the two which left the nest at the approach of the party were 
the young birds. 
I made my drawing of them the day after their death. It was one of the 
severest tasks which I ever performed, and was done under the most dis- s 
agreeable circumstances. I sat up nearly the whole of the night, to sketch 
them in outline. The next day it rained for hours, and the water fell on my 
paper and colours all the while from the rigging of the Ripley. 
The weight of the female was 3 pounds 2 ounces, that of the male 2 pounds 
14 ounces avoirdupois. Their flesh was tough and bluish, and their whole 
structure was remarkable for the indications of strength which it exhibited. 
The intestines measured 4 feet 9 inches. The heart was extremely large, 
and very remarkable for its firmness. The liver also was large. The 
stomach, which was thin, contained remains of fish, feathers, and hair. 
From the account which I received from my son and his companions, I 
would willingly suppose that no one had ever before disturbed their solitude. 
They flew about and close to them, as if altogether unacquainted with the 
effects of a gun. The young appeared full grown, and, as if aware of the 
fate of their parents, alighted only on the highest and most inaccessible parts 
of the rocks around. Both the specimens procured were carefully skinned 
and preserved. One is in my possession ; the other I gave to my worthy 
and generous friend John Bachman. 
On inquiring of a Mr. Jones, who had been a resident in Labrador for 
twenty years, I was informed that these Hawks feed on and destroy an im- 
mense number of Hares, Rock Partridges, and Willow Grouse; but he could 
not give me any information as to the change of plumage, never having seen 
them in any other state than that of the individuals represented in my plate, 
which I shewed to him. The fishermen called them Duck Hawks, and 
some of them reported many exploits pei'formed by them, which I think it 
unnecessary to repeat, as I considered them exaggerated. 
Falco islandicus, Jer Falcon , Rich, aud Swains. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 2*7 
Gyr Falcon, Falco Islandicus , Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 51. 
Iceland or Jer Falcon, Falco Islandicus , Aud. Ora. Biog., vol. iv. p. 466. Adult 
Female. 
Iceland or Jer Falcon, Falco Islandicus, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. ii. p. 552. Young 
Male and Female. 
The bill is very pale blue, the extremity of the upper mandible black, that 
of the lower yellowish ; the eyes greyish-black ; the cere, superciliary ridge, 
edges of eyelids, tarsi and toes, pale yellow ; the eyelids pale blue ; the claws 
black. The plumage is pure white, but all the feathers of the back and rump, 
the scapulars, the wing-coverts, and the secondary quills, have near their 
