(_Two-thirds Life size_)]
All parts of the world afford everything that is necessary to the
existence of these predatory races; they are as much at their ease upon
beds of ice such as environ Greenland or Spitzbergen as upon the glowing
sands of an African desert; they sweep over continents, and exhibit the
utmost indifference whether they alight upon the gigantic trees of a
primitive forest or upon the steeples of a densely populated city. As
winter approaches, such of these winged freebooters as inhabit northern
regions wander south, returning in the spring to their native haunts,
each bird with its mate, and at once commence preparations for the
reception of the single brood produced by the pair during the whole year.
The eyrie, as the nest of a Bird of Prey is called, is usually situated
in hollow trees, cavities in old walls, on lofty rocks, or among the most
inaccessible branches of the forest, in some cases, though rarely, upon
the ground; or they make a platform of boughs, upon which the eggs are
deposited. When built upon trees or rocks these eyries are usually very
firm and massive in their construction, the walls increasing in height
and strength from year to year, as their occupants add to and repair
them at the commencement of each season; the interior, however, is never
deep, the bed for the young being gradually raised with the rest of the
fabric. Large sticks are employed by some Eagles to form the outwork of
the eyrie; Tschudi tells us that the Stone Eagle obtains the branches
it requires by falling suddenly upon them with closed wings, and thus,
by the weight of its body, breaking them from the trunk to which they
belong; the branch is then carried off in its talons to the place where
the nest is to be built. Such Birds of Prey as build in holes trouble
themselves but little about the accommodation of their brood, and lay
their eggs without any preparation upon the naked stone, or at the
bottom of the cavity they have selected. During the time that these bold
and daring birds are occupied in the choice of a mate terrible battles
are of frequent occurrence, the spirited antagonists confronting each
other on the wing, and fighting till one of them is compelled to quit
the field, the combat being often renewed day after day for whole weeks
together, until the weaker rival is fairly vanquished, and driven from
the locality; the females never appear to mingle in the strife, and are
treated throughout the breeding season with the utmost attention and
tenderness by their victorious spouses. The eggs, which are from one
to seven in number, are rough shelled, and either pure white, grey, or
yellow, marked with spots and streaks of a darker shade. In general only
the female broods, but she is relieved occasionally by the male bird, who
is by no means behind the mother in attachment to the young, and will
sometimes perish in endeavouring to ward off danger from his progeny. The
nestlings are at first fed upon food half digested in the crop of their
parents, and afterwards upon scraps of flesh. The preparation of the
nutriment intended for the young usually devolves upon the mother, but
both parents combine in watching over the safety of the little flock long
after they are fully fledged.
All Birds of Prey procure their principal sustenance by murderous and
incessant attacks upon the creatures that surround them; and, besides
flesh, many will devour insects, eggs, worms, snails, garbage of all
kinds, and, in some rare instances, fruit; they consume great quantities
of food, but are also capable of fasting during a considerable period.
Their digestive powers are such as to enable them to reduce bones and
sinews to a pap; the feathers and hair of their prey are rolled into
a ball, and from time to time ejected from the mouth. Perhaps few
prejudices are more unjust than the ill-will and enmity with which men
usually regard these voracious and daring races, whose destructive
propensities are much more frequently employed in their service than in
the injury of their property; the Secretary Vulture destroys the Cobra di
Capello by crushing its head, whilst other species clear the streets of
Africa and Southern Asia of a mass of filth and refuse which, if left to
accumulate, would fill the air with poison and disseminate everywhere the
seeds of death.
* * * * *
The Raptores divide themselves naturally into three distinct and
important groups, gradually connected by a great variety of species,
which combine and blend, as it were, the particular characteristics of
the more typical members of the order. These three groups are--
* * * * *
The FALCONS, the VULTURES, and the OWLS. We have no hesitation in
assigning to the Falcons the first place, both on account of their
intelligence and the development of their corporeal attributes; but it is
not so easy to decide between the merits of the Vultures and the Owls,
as their claims upon our notice are very equal. We, however, regard the
Vultures as the more highly gifted birds, and have, therefore, given them
the second place upon our list.
* * * * *
The FALCONS (_Falconidæ_) are distinguished by their powerful, slender,
and compact bodies, heads of medium size, and short necks. Their wings
are large, usually pointed, but occasionally rounded at the extremity;
the tail and feet are very various, both as regards formation and
strength; the beak is short, and covered at its base with a cere, which
is never concealed from view by feathers; the upper mandible is always
hooked, and sometimes furnished with tooth-like projections. In some
species the plumage covers not merely the entire body, but extends
over the legs and feet, even to the toes; the feathers are sometimes
short and coarse, and sometimes soft and silky in texture, but always
very abundant. The eyes are bright and of moderate size, the crop is
protuberant, but never globose. All the Falcons obtain their food by
rapine, and may be regarded as the most daring and courageous of the
feathered tribes.
* * * * *
The NOBLE FALCONS (_Falcones_) are in every respect the most perfectly
organised members of the group to which they belong; both as regards
their strength and skill, and the perfection in which they display the
characteristics peculiar to their race, they stand supreme. In these
noble birds, as they are justly called, the body is very compact, the
head moderate, the neck short, the wings long and pointed, the second
and occasionally the third quill being longer than the rest. The beak
is short but powerful, very decidedly arched at its base, hooked at
the extremity, and furnished near its apex with a more or less highly
developed _tooth_; the lower mandible is sharp at its edge, and has a
hollow in which the tooth of the upper mandible can lodge. The talons
of these Falcons are proportionately larger and more formidable than
those of any other Bird of Prey; the leg is strong and muscular, and the
tarsus short, the middle toe almost equalling it in length. The plumage
is thick and harsh, the quills and tail-feathers of great strength. The
region of the eye is bare, so as not to interfere with the scope of
vision, presenting a naked ring, which is a distinguishing characteristic
of the Noble Falcons. The plumage is usually of a light blueish grey
above, whilst whitish grey, reddish yellow, or white predominate on the
lower parts of the body; the cheeks are often curiously marked by a black
streak, which has been called a _beard_. The males resemble the females
in the coloration of their feathers, but are somewhat smaller. The young
do not acquire the plumage of their parents until they are two or three
years old.
Many of these birds migrate during the winter months, and spend a
great portion of their time in flying over the face of the country,
sweeping along with astonishing strength and rapidity, and rushing
down upon their prey with a velocity that renders it impossible for
the eye to follow their movements. Considerable variety is observable
in the manner in which the flight of the different races of Falcons is
accomplished, some moving slowly and with a hovering motion through the
realms of air, others sustaining themselves for a considerable time in
one spot by means of a gentle and tremulous agitation of the wings. The
Noble Falcons, on the contrary, fly with quick short strokes, and an
occasional gliding movement, sometimes soaring to an incredible height,
and performing most varied and beautiful evolutions, more especially
when they are endeavouring to attract the admiration of their mates; at
other times they do not usually rise to more than 400 feet above the
earth. When perching, the body, owing to the shortness of the feet, is of
necessity held erect, but is kept in a horizontal position when walking
on the ground, an act which they accomplish in the most awkward manner,
endeavouring to render their progress more easy by a constant balancing
of the wings. Early morning and evening are preferred by these Falcons
for the pursuit of their prey, which they almost always capture whilst
in flight, the booty being carried off to some retired spot, where they
can devour it undisturbed and at leisure. Some species consume large
quantities of insects, but no true Falcon in its free state will eat
carrion. The process of digestion is accomplished during a light sleep
into which these birds usually fall when satiated, and during which they
sit perched upon some tree with streaming and disordered plumage. During
the summer they live in pairs, and will allow no intruder to approach the
spot where they have selected their building place, but at other seasons
they occasionally associate with their congeners and form large flocks,
which remain together for weeks and months at a time; towards Eagles or
Owls, on the contrary, they exhibit the utmost enmity, and many are the
sturdy combats that ensue should the rival marauders encroach upon each
other's hunting grounds.
The eyrie of the Noble Falcons is usually very carelessly constructed,
and, indeed, some of them will not take the trouble to make even ordinary
preparation for their young, but seize upon the nests of some of the
larger species of Ravens; whilst such as do build for themselves are
content with almost any situation, and merely collect a rough heap of
sticks in the holes of trees, rocks, old walls, or even on the ground,
the only care for the comfort of the young family consisting in the
arrangement of a slight bed of some fibrous material, upon which the
brood is laid. The eggs, from three to seven in number, vary considerably
in their appearance, but are for the most part round, rough-shelled, and
of a pale reddish brown, marked with small spots and large patches of
a darker shade. The female alone sits upon the nest, and is meanwhile
tended with much assiduity by her mate, who endeavours to enliven her
during the performance of her monotonous duty by every means in his
power. The young receive the utmost care and attention from both parents,
even after they have left the nest, and are instructed and defended from
danger with most unwearying devotion.
Perhaps few creatures are so destructive to game and poultry as these
Falcons, and yet for centuries they were regarded with distinguished
favour by man, who had learnt how to subdue them to his service. So long
ago as 400 years before Christ we hear of their being employed in the
chase, and in the sixth century the passion for falconry had attained to
such an extravagant excess that it was openly reprobated and forbidden
in the churches; but even after this the barons, it is said, maintained
their right to place their Falcons on the altar during the hours of
Divine service. So violent was the rage for this pursuit in England that
Edward III. commanded that those who killed a Falcon should be punished
with death, and condemned to imprisonment for a year and a day whoever
should take one of their nests. To such a high value had they risen in
1396 that the Duke of Nevers and many other noble captives were liberated
by Bajazet on the payment of twelve white Falcons, sent to him by the
Duke of Burgundy as their ransom. Francis I. kept no fewer than 300 of
these valuable birds, which were reared under the care of an officer, who
had fifteen noblemen and fifty falconers to assist him in his duties.
In England hawking was performed on horseback or on foot--on horseback
when in the fields and open country, and on foot when in the woods and
coverts. In following the Hawk on foot it was usual for the sportsman to
have a stout pole with him to assist him in leaping over little rivulets
and ditches; this we learn from an historical fact related by Hall, who
informs us that Henry VIII. pursuing his Hawk on foot at Hitchin, in
Hertfordshire, attempted, with the assistance of his pole, to jump over
a ditch that was half full of muddy water, the pole broke, and the king
fell with his head into the mud, where he would have been stifled had
not a footman leaped into the ditch and released His Majesty from his
perilous situation. When the Hawk was not flying at her game, she was
usually _hoodwinked_ with a _cap_ or hood provided for that purpose and
fitted to her head, and this hood was worn abroad as well as at home. All
Hawks taken upon "_the fist_," the term used for carrying them upon the
hand, had strips of leather, called _jesses_, put about their legs, and
the jesses were made sufficiently long for the knots to appear between
the middle and little fingers of the hand that held them, so that the
_lunes_, or small thongs of leather, might be fastened to them with two
_tyrrits_, or rings, and the lunes were then loosely wound round the
little finger. Lastly, their legs were adorned with bells fastened with
rings of leather--each leg having one--the leathers to which the bells
were attached were denominated _bewits_, and to the bewits was added the
_creance_, or long string, by which, in tutoring, the bird was drawn back
after she had been permitted to fly, a proceeding which was called the
reclaiming of the Hawk. The bewits, we are informed, were for the purpose
of keeping the Hawk from "winding when she bated," that is, when she
fluttered her wings to fly after her game. Respecting the bells, it is
particularly recommended that they should not be too heavy to impede the
flight of the bird, and that they should be of equal weight, sonorous,
shrill, and musical, not both of one sound, but the one a semitone below
the other. The person who carried the Hawk was also provided with gloves
for the purpose of preventing its talons from hurting his hands. In the
inventories of apparel belonging to Henry VIII. such articles frequently
occur; at Hampton Court, in the jewel house, were "seven Hawks' gloves
embroidered."
Old books on hawking assign to different ranks of persons the sort of
Hawks proper to be used by each, and they are enumerated in the following
order:--
"The Eagle, the Vulture, and the Merloun--for an _Emperor_.
The Ger-faulcon, and the Tercel of the Ger-faulcon--for a _King_.
The Faulcon of the Rock--for a _Duke_.
The Faulcon Peregrine--for an _Earl_.
The Bastard--for a _Baron_.
The Sacre and the Sacret--for a _Knight_.
The Lanere and the Laneret--for an _Esquire_.
The Marlyon--for a _Lady_.
The Hobby--for a _Young Man_.
The Goshawk--for a _Yeoman_.
The Tercel--for a _Poor Man_.
The Sparrow Hawk--for a _Priest_.
The Musket--for a _Holy Water Clerk_.
The Kestrel--for a _Knave_ or _Servant_."
The above list is interesting, as it may be presumed to contain the names
applied to the greater part, if not all, of the birds used in hawking.
As in hunting, so in hawking the sportsmen had their peculiar
expressions, and the uninitiated may read with advantage the terms
employed to designate assemblages of various kinds of birds. Thus we read
of a _sege_ of Herons or of Bitterns, a _herd_ of Swans, of Cranes, and
of Curlews, a _dopping_ of Sheldrakes, a _spring_ of Teals, a _covert_ of
Coots, a _gaggle_ of Geese, a _badelynge_ of Ducks, a _sord_ or _sute_
of Mallards, a _muster_ of Peacocks, a _nye_ of Pheasants, a _bevy_
of Quails, a _covey_ of Partridges, a _congregation_ of Plovers, a
_flight_ of Doves, a _dole_ of Turtles, a _walk_ of Snipes, a _fall_ of
Woodcocks, a _brood_ of Chickens, a _building_ of Rooks, a _murmuration_
of Starlings, an _exaltation_ of Larks, a _flight_ of Swallows, a _watch_
of Nightingales, and a _charm_ of Goldfinches.
It will thus be seen that many technical expressions once employed in
Falconry are still in common use.
The Mews at Charing Cross, Westminster, were so called from the word
_Mew_, which, in Falconers' language was the name of the place wherein
Hawks were kept at the moulting time, when they cast their feathers: the
king's Hawks were kept at this place as early as 1377, at the beginning
of the reign of Richard II., but A.D. 1537, the 27th of Henry VIII., it
was converted into stables for that monarch's horses, and even up to the
present time the word Mews is employed to designate London stables.
In Central Asia the use of these birds for hunting purposes appears to
have been carried on with truly Eastern pomp and profusion, for Marco
Polo, who wrote about the year 1290, tells us that when Kublai Khan
quitted Hambul he took with him no fewer than 10,000 falconers, who were
sent out in parties of from 200 to 300 men to hunt over different parts
of the country, and were commanded to send all the game they obtained to
their master.
[Illustration: ORIENTAL FALCONRY.]
On these occasions the Khan rode upon an elephant, and was followed by
10,000 men, who stood in an enormous circle round him, ready to catch the
Falcons and bring them back to their owners. Twelve of the finest birds
were appropriated to the Sultan, and these, as well as those belonging to
the principal nobles, were distinguished by a silver plate fastened to
the leg, on which the name of their owner was written, whilst the Falcons
belonging to inferior members of the suite were without the badge, and
were handed over to the care of an officer appointed for their especial
protection. Tavernier, who resided in Persia for many years in the
seventeenth century, tells us that the King of Persia had 800 Falcons,
of which some were taught to hunt wild boars, wild asses, antelopes,
and foxes, and others trained to go in pursuit of Cranes, Herons, Geese,
and Partridges; Chardin, another eastern traveller, informs us that the
Persians trained them to fly at the heads of very large quadrupeds, or
even men, and blind them. It would appear that this mode of hunting
with Falcons is still practised in many provinces of Asia, and Sir John
Malcolm, in his "Sketches of Persia," describes the sport of hawking as
seen by him when at Abasheher on the Persian Gulf:--
"The huntsmen repair to a large plain, or rather desert, near the
sea-side; they have Hawks and greyhounds; the Hawks are carried in the
usual manner, on the hand of the huntsman; the dogs led in a leash by
the horseman, generally the same who carries the Hawk. When an antelope
is seen, they endeavour to get as near as possible, but the animal, the
moment it observes them, goes off at a rate that seems swifter than the
wind; the horsemen are instantly at full speed, having slipped the dogs.
If it is a single deer, they at the same time fly the Hawks, but if a
herd, they wait till the dogs have fixed on a particular antelope. The
Hawks, skimming along near the ground, soon reach the deer, at whose head
they pounce in succession, and sometimes with a violence that knocks
it over; at all events they confuse the animal so much as to stop its
speed in such a degree that the dogs can come up, and in an instant men,
horses, dogs, and Hawks, surround the unfortunate deer, against which
their united efforts have been combined. The part of the chase that
surprised me most was the extraordinary combination of the Hawks and the
dogs, which throughout seemed to look to each other for aid; this, I was
told, was the result of long and skilful training. The Hawks used in this
sport are of a species I have never seen in any other country; the breed,
which is called 'Cherkh,' is not large, but of great beauty and symmetry.
"The novelty of these amusements interested me, and I was pleased on
accompanying a party to a village, about twenty miles from Abasheher,
to see a species of hawking, peculiar, I believe, to the sandy plains
of Persia, on which the Hubara, a noble species of Bustard is found on
almost bare plains, where it has no shelter but a small shrub, called
'yeetuck.' When we met in quest of them we were a party of about twenty,
all well mounted. Two kinds of Hawks are necessary for this sport; the
first, the Cherkh (the same which is flown at the antelope) attacks them
on the ground, but will not follow them on the wing; for this reason,
the Bhyree, a Hawk well known in India, is flown at them the moment the
Hubara rises. As we rode along in an extended line, the men who carried
the Cherkhs every now and then unhooded and held them up, that they might
look over the plain, and the first Hubara we found afforded us a proof
of the astonishing quickness of sight of one of the Hawks. She fluttered
to be loose, and the man who held her gave a whoop as he threw her off
his hand, and then set off at full speed; we all did the same. At first
we only saw our Hawk skimming over the plain, but soon perceived, at the
distance of more than a mile, the beautiful speckled Hubara, with his
head erect and wings outspread, running forward to meet his adversary;
the Cherkh made several unsuccessful pounces, which were either evaded
or repelled by the beak or wings of the Hubara, which at last found
an opportunity of rising, when a Bhyree was instantly flown, and the
whole party were again at full gallop; we had a flight of more than a
mile, when the Hubara alighted, and was killed by another Cherkh, who
attacked him on the ground. We killed several others, but were not always
successful, having seen our Hawks twice completely beaten during the two
days that we followed this fine sport."
According to Jerdon, the Bedouins of the Sahara capture large numbers
of Peregrine Falcons, and sell them to men who train them to pursue
Bustards, Storks, Ibises, and various quadrupeds. The Heron alone, of all
birds, seems capable of resisting these terrible assailants, and will
sometimes defend itself so courageously with its beak as to drive off
the enemy, should the latter not have sufficient experience to seize the
Heron by the nape of the neck. In England the pursuit of the Heron by
means of Falcons was practised until very recently, and Sir John Sebright
gives the following account of Heron hawking as practised at Didlington
in Norfolk:--
"This heronry is situated on a river, with an open country on every
side of it. The Herons go out in the morning to rivers and ponds, at
a very considerable distance, in search of food, and return to the
heronry towards the evening. It is at this time that the falconers place
themselves in the open country, down wind of the heronry, so that when
the Herons are intercepted on their return home, they are obliged to fly
against the wind to gain their retreat. When a Heron passes, _a cast_ (a
couple) of Hawks is let go. The Heron disgorges his food when he finds
that he is pursued, and endeavours to keep above the Hawks by rising in
the air. The Hawks fly in a spiral direction to get above the Heron,
and thus the three birds frequently appear to be flying in different
directions. The first Hawk makes his stoop as soon as he gets above the
Heron, who evades it by a shift, and thus gives the second Hawk time to
get up and stoop in his turn. In what is termed a good flight this is
frequently repeated, and the three birds often mount to a great height
in the air. When one of the Hawks seizes his prey, the other soon _binds
to him_, as it is termed, and, buoyant from the motion of their wings,
the three descend together to the ground, with but little velocity. The
falconer must lose no time in getting hold of the Heron's neck when he is
on the ground, to prevent him from injuring the Hawks; it is then, and
not when he is in the air, that he will use his beak in his defence."
The SCHAHIN, or ROYAL FALCON (_Falco peregrinator_), is highly prized
by the Hindoos, who catch large numbers annually. When in pursuit of
game, this latter species is not loosened from the huntsman's hand, but
is permitted to soar aloft in freedom until its prey is roused, when it
swoops down upon it with unerring aim.
* * * * *
The HUNTING FALCONS (_Hierofalco_), the most prized of the Falcon
family, inhabit the more northern portions of the globe, and are at
once recognisable by their very large bodies, strong and decidedly
curved beaks, long tails, and the fact that the feet are only partially
covered with feathers; in other respects they closely resemble other
Noble Falcons. We have divided these birds into three groups, which we
shall call respectively the HUNTING, the POLAR, and the GIER FALCONS.
The two former of these sections bear a close resemblance to each other
as to plumage, and the young of all three are so much alike as almost to
baffle even the eye of a practised naturalist. The plumage of the HUNTING
FALCON (_Hierofalco candicans_) is white, marked with longitudinal dark
streaks, whilst that of the POLAR FALCON (_Hierofalco Arcticus_) is
white, with irregular dark blotches; as both species advance in years,
these dark marks gradually fade, and the plumage becomes a most pure and
beautiful white. In the young birds the back is greyish brown or deep
grey, with very distinct streaks and spots; the feathers upon the top
of the head have black shafts, and vary considerably in their shade;
the wings and tail are broadly striped, and the lower parts of the body
are fawn colour; the brown eye is surrounded by a bare greenish yellow
ring. In the old birds the feet are pale yellow, the beak yellowish
blue, becoming darker towards the tip, and the cere yellow; the feet of
the young are blue. The plumage of the Gier Falcon (spelt also _Ger_,
_Jer,_ and _Gyr_), on the contrary, is deep greyish blue, striped with
black upon the upper part of the body; the tail is light greyish blue,
striped with a deeper shade; the quills are brownish black, the breast
and belly are grey or yellowish white, marked with long dark streaks,
varied upon the sides and hose by irregular spots. The coat of the young
is dark brown above, and of a light greyish yellow beneath, streaked with
a deeper shade. Nestlings of this species are scarcely distinguishable
from Peregrine Falcons of similar age. All these three groups of HUNTING
FALCONS are nearly of the same size; the females being about one foot
eleven inches in length, and four feet in breadth; the tail measures
about nine inches, and the wing fifteen inches.
The Hunting Falcon and the Polar Falcon both inhabit Greenland and
Iceland; the Gier Falcon, on the contrary, is met with in the most
northerly parts of Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia, and, according to
our own observations, is the only species of Hunting Falcon found in
Lapland. We must speak collectively of the habits of these three groups,
concerning whose respective peculiarities we are almost entirely without
information. All appear to prefer such rocky localities as are in the
immediate neighbourhood of the sea coast, and upon which hundreds and
thousands of sea birds settle during the breeding season; nevertheless,
they do not entirely avoid the wooded parts of the country, for such
amongst them as are too young to pair make long excursions inland, even
occasionally visiting the mountain ranges of the interior, amongst which
the old birds are rarely or never seen. The attachment of these various
species to their breeding places is very remarkable; they return to them
with such unfailing regularity that we were once accurately directed
where to look for an eyrie, even though our informant had neither seen
the spot nor heard it spoken of for many years; in their other habits
they closely resemble the Peregrine Falcon.
During the summer months they subsist upon sea birds, in the winter
upon Ptarmigans, and, according to some naturalists, will devour hares,
and live upon squirrels for whole months together. We were on one
occasion for three days in the vicinity of the Nyken (two mountains much
frequented by sea birds), and watched a pair of Gier Falcons come down
morning after morning punctually at ten o'clock, in order to obtain their
breakfast. This was very speedily accomplished; both took a rapid survey
of the feathered swarm they were about to attack, and then, swooping
down with unerring aim, carried off one bird after another until they
had obtained the necessary supply. Holwell mentions having seen a Polar
Falcon pounce upon two Sea Gulls at the same time, and bear them away
in triumph one in each foot; they are also said to destroy Pigeons. At
the close of the breeding season the Hunting Falcons often come down
from their retirement and approach the dwellings of man, towards whom
they exhibit but little fear. When winter approaches they follow the
Ptarmigans to their retreats amongst the mountains, and so great is the
dread in which the latter holds their cruel and insatiable enemy, that
they will frequently endeavour to bury themselves in the snow, if safety
by flight seems to be hopeless. When in pursuit of the squirrel their
ordinary mode of attack would, of course, be impossible, as the creature
is protected by the sheltering trees; the Hunting Falcons, therefore, at
once change their tactics, and display a patience and cunning in watching
for and stealing upon their victims that strikingly contrasts with their
ordinary precipitate and open butchery.
According to Faber, the True Hunting Falcon builds its large flat eyrie
amid the fastnesses of some inaccessible rock in the immediate vicinity
of the ocean, whilst the Gier Falcon prefers to avoid all the labour of
preparation by taking violent possession of the nest of some large Crow.
The eggs of the Polar Falcon are laid about June or July, those of the
Gier Falcon, according to Nardoi, are usually laid as early as April,
though we have found them in the month of July. The colour and size of
the eggs is very varied, but those of the Polar Falcon are largest, and
have the roughest shell.
Some centuries ago a Danish vessel called the _Falcon Ship_ was sent
every year to bring these birds from Iceland, and live Falcons are still
exported every year to Copenhagen. Large numbers are killed in Iceland
and Greenland on account of the mischief they do, but in the north of
Asia they are still reared and trained for the chase. In Lapland and
Scandinavia they are never captured except for the naturalist. The Raven
is the only feathered enemy against whose attacks the Hunting Falcons
have to be upon their guard.
* * * * *
The WANDERING FALCONS (_Falco_) differ from the last-mentioned birds in
the inferiority of their size, and the construction of the beak, which is
smaller and more decidedly curved; the feet are not so entirely covered
with feathers, and the tail is somewhat shorter in comparison with the
wings.