. Animal life in field and garden . d in a notablemanner from the very outset. Their wings arepointed at the tip and when folded they extendbe-yond or at least as far as the end of the tail. Allfalcons soar in their flightwhen hunting. To thisclass belong the commonfalcon, the hobby, and themerlin. The common falcon,which is as large as a hen,can be recognized by asort of mustache or blackspot it has on each back is of a dark ashenhue crossed by narrow stripes of a still deepershade; the throat and breast are pure white, withblack markings running lengthwise; the stomach andthighs ar
. Animal life in field and garden . d in a notablemanner from the very outset. Their wings arepointed at the tip and when folded they extendbe-yond or at least as far as the end of the tail. Allfalcons soar in their flightwhen hunting. To thisclass belong the commonfalcon, the hobby, and themerlin. The common falcon,which is as large as a hen,can be recognized by asort of mustache or blackspot it has on each back is of a dark ashenhue crossed by narrow stripes of a still deepershade; the throat and breast are pure white, withblack markings running lengthwise; the stomach andthighs are light gray tinged with blue and stripedwith black; and the tail shows alternate stripes ofdingy white and of black. The beak is blue with ablack tip, and the eyes and legs are a beautiful yel-low. But it should be added that the plumage ofthe common falcon varies a good deal with age, andnot until the bird is three or four years old does itagree with the description I have just given. The summits of the wildest and loftiest crags. Gerfalcon 142 ANIMAL LIFE IN FIELD AND GARDEN are the falcons home, whence it goes forth to huntpigeons, quails, partridges, chickens, and ducks. Itrises and soars some time in the air, searching forits victims, and then swoops down upon them likea missile hurled from the sky. With astonishingboldness it makes its way into the farmers pigeon-cotes and chases the pigeons themselves under thevery ej^es of passers-by, in the middle of crowdedstreets. It will even snatch partridges from beforethe hunters rifle and from under the hunting-dogsnose. Its cry is strong and piercing, and it flies un-wearied at the rate of twenty leagnies an hour forhundreds of leag-ues; but its walk is jerky and awk-ward because its hooked claws, furnished with longand recurved nails, rest insecurely on the falcon nests on the southern face of rocky preci-pices, the nest itself being clumsily built and holdingthree or four eggs of a reddish hue spotted withbrown. T
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
