to the female ; the male is called a Lanneret, on account of
his smaller size.
Sir John Sebright, in his Observations on Hawking, before
quoted, thus describes the mode of flying Peregrine
Falcons at Herons, as practised in Norfolk :—Vi A well-
stocked Heronry in an open country is necessary for this
sport; and this may be seen in the greatest perfection at
Didlington in Norfolk, the seat of Colonel Wilson. 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.
I t 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 place of 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 a ir; the Hawks fly in a spiral direction to get above the
H eron, 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
to stoop in his turn. In what is deemed a good flight, this
is frequently repeated, and the three birds often mount to a
exeat height in the air. When o O 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. Hawks have, indeed, sometimes,
but very rarely, been hurt by striking against the
Heron’s beak when stooping ; but this has been purely by
accident, and not, as has been said, by the Heron’s presenting
his beak to his pursuer as a means of defence. When the
Heron flies down wind, he is seldom taken, the Hawks are
in great danger of being lost, and as the flight is in a straight
line, it affords but little sport.”
So bold as well as rapid is the Peregrine Falcon, that it
has frequently interfered and robbed the sportsman of his
game in the manner described under the article “ Golden
Eagle,” of which instances are related by Mr. Selby and
others. This species has been most aptly termed peregrinus,
since it has been found in very distant parts of the world;
its extraordinary powers of flight being probably one great
cause of extensive geographical distribution. In this country
it makes its nest on the high cliffs between Freshwater
Gate and the lighthouse, near the Needle Rocks in the Isle
of Wight. In Devonshire and Cornwall it is known by the
name of the Cliff-Hawk. Pennant has recorded a locality
on the rocky coast of Caernarvonshire. The young have
been obtained from the rocks about Holyhead, and the Great
Orme’s Head ; and in Ireland, Mr. Thompson informs me
it is not uncommon in rocky situations inland as well as
marine. Mr. Selby, in the Proceedings of the Berwickshire
Naturalists’ Club, has noticed both adult birds and their
young in the vicinity of St. Abb’s Head; in Scotland it is
also well known, and Sir William Jardine, in his Notes on
this bird, in his edition of Wilson’s American Ornithology,
names the Vale of Moffat in Dumfriesshire, the Bass Rock,
and the Isle of May in the Forth, as places in which these