. An illustrated manual of British birds . om rocks. Th^. food consists ofwater-fowl and other birds—largely of various Arctic species ofGrouse, which are captured on the wing. All these NorthernFalcons were formerly esteemed for hawking, as they still areby the Mongol races ; their style of flight is magnificent—muchswifter than that of the Peregrine—and both are deadly footers { tenacious of grip), but they lack spirit and dash. The adult is represented by the front figure in the engraving ;the prevailing colour of the upper parts being brownish-grey on acreamy ground, while the under pa
. An illustrated manual of British birds . om rocks. Th^. food consists ofwater-fowl and other birds—largely of various Arctic species ofGrouse, which are captured on the wing. All these NorthernFalcons were formerly esteemed for hawking, as they still areby the Mongol races ; their style of flight is magnificent—muchswifter than that of the Peregrine—and both are deadly footers { tenacious of grip), but they lack spirit and dash. The adult is represented by the front figure in the engraving ;the prevailing colour of the upper parts being brownish-grey on acreamy ground, while the under parts are of a purer white; the billis horn-colour, the legs and feet are bluish. The young bird (inthe rear) is ashy-brown above, while the under parts are markedwith dark drop-shaped spots. Length of the female 25 in., of themale 21 in. There is great individual variation; moreover the Ice-land and the Greenland Falcons interbreed at times, and a remark-able hybrid belonging to Col. E. Delme-Radcliffe is in my care. ;35. THE PEREGRLNE EALCON. Falco peregrixus, Tunstall. This fine species, ///ar excellence, of those devoted to theancient sport of hawking, is still one of the most abundant of ourdiurnal Accipitres ; and considerable numbers of immature birds,technically known as Passage- or Red Hawks, annually occurthroughout our islands—especially on the eastern side—betweenautumn and the following spring. From some of its formerbreeding-places it has undoubtedly been banished ; but eyries maystill be found—though many of them are yearly robbed—fromKent to Cornwall, and, more frequently, along the west coast andin Wales; while in the mountainous districts of the north ofEngland they are on inland-rocks as well as sea-cliffs. In Scot-land, although much persecuted on account of its destructivenessto game, the Peregrine is generally distributed throughout the 336 PEREGRINE FALCON. mainland and the islands, as far as the Shetlands. In suitablelocalities i
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidillustra, booksubjectbirds
