FALCO CANDICANS, J . f . Gmei.
Greenland Falcon, light race (adult and young).
Falco candicans, Gmel. edit. Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 275.
grcenlandicns, Daud. Traite d’Orn., tom. ii. p. 107.
— fuscus, Fabr. Faun. Graenl., p. 56.
SSarcltct/s, Holb.
Hierofalco candicans, Cuv. Régn. Anim., edit. 1, tom. i. p. 312.
— gromlandicus, Brehm, Vög. Deutsch!., tom. i. p. 16.
Falco ( Hierofalco) candicans, Bias. List of Birds of Eur., Eng. edit. p. 3.
gyrfalco grtxnlandicus, Schleg.
T he bird under consideration is the Falco candicans o f Gmelin, F. gmnlandicus o f Daudin, and F. arcticus of
Holboll, specific names which at the same time furnish the reader with some idea of the colouring of this
species and intimate the countries it 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 during autumn and winter to more temperate latitudes; and hence it is that some parts of America
and Europe are now and then favoured 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 the existence of 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 of 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 of 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 Gyrfalcon, 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 or yellowish-white colouring of the cere, legs, toes, and even the claws, and the fact that the
yonng°birds in their early plumage are white or nearly white, while the young of the other two species are
very dark. Surely, if these differences are constant, we should not hesitate to adopt the distinctive appellation
assigned to it.
“ The Greenland Falcon,” remarks Professor Newton in his edition of Yarrell’s ‘ 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 n ot unfrequently in the Dominion of 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 o f 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 be supposed that in Greenland the white form only is fonnd. In the southern districts of 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 of the northern parts o f British America. Writing of what was
doubtless this form of Falcon, Sir John Richardson in the ‘ Fauna Boreali-americana’ s a y s ; - ’ In the
middle o f June 1821, a pair of these birds attacked me as I was climbing in the vicinity o f their nest,
which was built on a lofty precipice on the borders of Point Lake, in latitude 65*. 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 or two o f my head. I
endeavoured, by keeping the barrel of my gun close to my cheek, and suddenly elevating its muzzle when
they were in the act of striking, to ascertain whether they had the power o f instantaneously changing
the direction of their rapid course, and found that they invariably rose above the obstacle with the quickness
of thought, showing equal acuteness of vision and power o f motion.’
“ I t has already been said that this Falcon occurs yearly in Iceland; but it does not breed there; and the
only instance on record o f its having been seen in that island in summer is that mentioned by Herr Preyer
in his travels. I t has very probably occurred on the continent o f Europe; but, owing to the way in which
it has been confounded with the cognate forms, the point cannot a t present be decided. The same confusion
renders useless many of the records of the appearance of large Falcons m the United Kingdom.