The Falcons form an exceedingly interesting group, if only on account of the part which they played in the sports of mediæval England. Birds of large size and forms as small as sparrows are included within the group; all are very powerful on the wing, and all feed on living prey, though, in the case of the diminutive forms, this may consist mainly, if not entirely, of insects. The members of the Falcon Tribe may be distinguished from the majority of the larger hawks by the fact that the eyes are dark hazel-brown instead of yellow, and that the bare, yellow, waxy-looking band of skin at the base of the beak, so characteristic of the Birds of Prey, is not sharply defined, but scantily clothed with fine bristles, passing insensibly into the feathers of the crown of the head.
Some of the best-known members of this section of the group are the Peregrine and Jer-falcons, and the Kestrel, Hobby, and Merlin. Only the peregrine and the kestrel, however, can now be called common.
Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, Washington.
AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWK.
One of the smallest and handsomest of the American hawks.
The Peregrine is the falcon held so much in esteem by falconers, by whom the female only was called the "falcon," the male, which is smaller, being known as a "tiercel." The female was used for the capture of the larger game, such as herons and rooks; whilst the male was flown only at partridges, and sometimes magpies.
In a wild state the peregrine falcon is regarded by other birds with the greatest fear and terror. Ducks feeding on the banks of streams or lakes, on perceiving it, immediately take to the water; whilst plovers and lapwings rise to an immense height in the air, and remain there for hours. Mr. Ussher, who has had many opportunities of studying this bird in Ireland, where it is quite common, relates an instance of the tenacity with which it follows its prey, in this case a lapwing. "The falcon," he says, "after several stoops, cleverly avoided by the lapwing, was so near clutching, that the poor bird, quite worn out, dropped into the water, and the falcon, after rising from her stoop, poised a moment on her wings, and then quietly lowering herself with extended legs, lifted the lapwing from the water and bore her off."
The eyrie is generally found half-way up some precipitous cliff: no nest is made, but the eggs are laid on the earth or gravel covering the selected ledge. When eggs are found in a nest, the latter has always been taken from some other bird, even the eagle being occasionally dispossessed. Three or four eggs are laid, which are very beautiful and variable in their coloration. The young are attended by their parents long after they are able to fly.
The Jer-falcons are birds of large size and great beauty, and at one time were much in request by falconers, probably largely on account of their appearance, for they lack the power and spirit of the peregrine. Grey and black and white and black are distinctive colours of the various species, which are inhabitants of northern regions.