JH ’oJfkECBidì/ir. M a- ìuh■
FALCO CANDIC
Greenland Falcon, lig*ht race (adult, and
Falco candicans, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 275.
—- groenlandicus, Daud. Traité d’Qrn., tom. ii. p. 107.
— fuscus, Fabr. Faun. Groenl., p. 56.
— arcticiis, IHolb.
Hierofalco candicans, Cnv. R-'ign. Anira., edit. l,tom .i. p. 812.
— gratnlandicus, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl., tom. i. p. 16.
Falco ( Hierofalco) candicans, Bias. List of Birds of Eur., Eng. edit. p. 3.
gyr/alco græslmdim, Sehleg. ,
T h e bird under consideration is the Falco candicans of Gmelin, F. grcenlandicus of Daudin, and F. arcticus of
Holboll, specific names which a t the same time furnish the reader with some idea of the colouring o f this
species and intimate the countries U inhabits. The native home, then, of this fine Falcon is the high northern
regions within rather than without the arctic circle, from which youthful (and, occasionally, adult) birds
wander durin" autumn and winter to more temperate latitudes ; and hence it is that some parts of America
and Europe are now and then fi»von red with its visits. In the course of the present work hints have from
time to time been thrown out as to the probability, nay, almost certainty, o f thè existence o f some unknown
land near the pole, to which rare birds retire to breed, and, perhaps, fat reindeer resort, as they do to
Spitsbergen, for pasture, free from the molestation o f man. If there be such an open country, then the
present bird, doubtless, also frequents it. For myself I have always considered the very high northern
regions to be the principal habitat o f this the whitest o f Falcons, a bird which possesses features whereby
it may a t all times be distinguished from its near allies. Even from a very early stage it differs from
both the Iceland and the Gvrfideon, and on attaining maturity acquires characters which neither of those
birds possesses • there are also other differences, which indicate its distinctness still more strikingly, namely
the light o r yellowish-white colouring o f the cere, legs, toes, and even the claws, and the fact th at the
young birds in their early plumage a re white o r nearly, white, while the young o f the other two species are
verv dark. Surely if these differences are constant, we should not hesitate to adopt the distinctive appellation
“ The Greenland Falcon,” remarks Professor Newton in his edition of YarrelPs ‘ British Birds, “ seems
to be most plentiful in the inhospitable regions which enclose Baffin’s Bay and extend to the westward.
From this tract adult birds seldom wander to other lands, though the young, especially in autumn and
winter occur regularly in Iceland, and not unfrequently in the Dominion o f Canada from Newfoundland
westward the United States, the British Islands, and even in countries still more remote from the place of
their birth. They are, no doubt, driven away by their parents, as is commonly the habit with birds of prey,
and follow the large flocks of Waterfowl, which are bred in the north, on their southward migration, though
it would appear that the ptarmigan forms the chief sustenance o f the old birds. At the same time it must
not he sunnosed that in Greenland the white form only is found. In the southern districts o f that country
the Iceland Falcon is certainly numerous ; and, on the other hand, there is good reason for believing that
the Greenland Falcon breeds in some o f the northern parts of British America. Writing of what was
doubtless this form o f Fah*wi, Sir John Richardson in the ‘ Fauna Boreali-americana’ s a y s ‘ In the
' Idle of June 1821 a pair o f these birds attacked me as I was climbing in the vicinity of their nest,
, - . . OJ; a on t jie borders o f Point Lake, in latitude 65j°. They flew in circles,
uttering loud and harsh screams, and alternately stooping with such velocity that their motion through
the air produced a loud rushing noise, they struck their claws within an inch o r two o f my head. I
pndeavMwmi bv fc rrnintr the barrel o f my gun close to my cheek, and suddenly elevating its muzzle when
, c striking to ascertain whether they had the power of instantaneously changing
the direction of th e ir rapid course, and found th at they invariably ròse above the obstacle with the quickness
“ It has already h a - a i d that the» Falcon occurs yearly in Iceland; but it does not breed there; and the
I jnntanrr on record « f its having been seen in that island in summer is that mentioned by Herr I reyer
in his travels. I t t a n probably occurred on the continent of Europe ; but, owing to the way in which