THE GREENLAND FALCON. 
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young ones, all full grown, two of which had already left 
the nest, and were sitting perched close by. The old birds 
circled screaming so close round my head that I was able 
to shoot them; they did not, however, strike at me, as 
do the Terns and Skuas. Both the young one in the 
nest, and the two sitting outside, were amply provided 
with a store of dead Guillemots, Razorbills, and Gulls.” 
The Norwegian merchant, Nordvi, an observant natu¬ 
ralist, informed me that the Jer Falcon prefers using an 
old Raven’s nest, if such can be conveniently found. 
Others tell us that the nest is composed of dry sticks and 
twigs: the eggs are laid about the beginning of June, 
and are three or four in number; they are strong in the 
shell and shining, larger and rounder than a Hen’s egg; 
the ground colour is either brownish yellow or reddish, 
closely spotted with small spots of a darker hue; the 
whole forming a beautiful design. It is singular that 
these birds, usually so bold, who, according to Faber, are 
so fond of their young, should not have attacked that 
naturalist. 
In olden times, several ships used to sail from Denmark 
every year to Iceland, and other northern countries, for 
the express purpose of procuring Falcons; and even at 
the commencement of this century the Danish government 
used to send at least one ship a year to obtain some of 
these birds, which it was customary at that time to send 
as presents to the King of Barbary. The Danes and Ice¬ 
landers of to-day, even, still send Jer Falcons by every 
ship bound from Reykiavik to Copenhagen. 
Nestlings, or birds of a year old, are preferred for 
hawking purposes. Four things are necessary for the 
successful training of a wild Falcon for the chase : expert 
treatment and patience on the part of the falconer, and 
