FALCONS. 
1S1 
the saker is trained for the chase of gazelles; while in India, where it is termed 
the cherug, it is flown not only at cranes, bustards, hares, etc., but likewise at 
kites. The chase of the latter is described as being exciting in the extreme, the 
two birds doing all they know to obtain the higher position, and often flying far 
from the hawking party. On one such occasion, Mr. R. Thompson, writing to Mr. 
Hume, says that “ after going a considerable distance from his quarry, and thereby 
acquiring what he wanted—superior height—the saker resumed the chase, returning 
downwards like a thunderbolt on the kite. Blow after blow was struck, and the 
helpless kite, with his merciless enemy, descended, clutched fast together, their wings 
expanded, in wheeling circles to the earth, where the kite, already half dead, was 
soon despatched.” Curiously enough, kites seem to recognise the saker as their 
enemy, as, immediately one was unhooded, all the kites in the vicinity flew off, 
although they took not the least notice of other falcons. 
Lanner and The falcon known as the lanner (F. feldeggii), although a 
Lag-gar Falcons. m uch smaller bird, has been frequently confounded with the 
preceding species; but, together with the laggar, it belongs to a group agreeing 
with the under-mentioned peregrine in the relative length of the toes and wings, 
although resembling the saker in the absence of the distinct dark barring 
on the thighs in the ordinary dress. The lanner is chiefly characteristic of 
the countries bordering the Mediterranean, and attains a length of 17 inches 
in the male. It has the back barred, the forehead blackish, and the hinder 
part of the head and nape rufous, with a narrow line of black on the 
forehead, and a thin black cheek-stripe; the general colour of the upper-parts 
being ashy brown, and the tail-feathers distinctly barred with pale rufous. The 
laggar ( F. jugger), which is confined to Peninsular India, is a still smaller species, 
measuring only 15| inches in the male, and having the thighs with scarcely any 
or no dark markings, and the middle tail-feathers not barred; the crown of the 
head being dull rufous, with lines of ashy black on the back. Other well-known 
species of this group are the Barbary falcon (F. bcirbarus), ranging from West 
and North-East Africa to North-Western India and the Himalaya; and the 
red-capped falcon (F. babylonicu.s), with a nearly similar range, but extending 
into Turkestan, and unknown in West Africa. The former is next in size to 
the saker, the female reaching a length of 224 inches; and may be distin¬ 
guished from the lanner by the rufous forehead and nape, and the bluish grey 
of the hinder part of the crown. The latter is much smaller, and has the under¬ 
parts uniform sandy rufous, instead of with wavy dark bars. 
Peregrine In common with the group just noticed, the peregrine falcon 
Falcons. (j? peregrinus ) — so named from the migratory habits of the young 
birds—differs from the gerfalcons and saker by its longer toes, especially the 
fourth, which (exclusive of the claw) exceeds the second in length; and also by 
the elongation of the wings, in which the interval between the primary and 
secondary quills is greater than half the length of the tail. The peregrine, which 
attains a length of 15 inches in the male and 17 in the female, is easily 
recognised by the distinct narrow black transverse bars on the thighs, the 
blackish colour of the crown of the head, and the expansion of the cheek- 
stripe into a large black patch. In the adult the whole of the crown of the head, 
