subject, and have written the above rhapsody simply as
an appeal to the few who can sympathize in the chief
delight of a still smaller portion of the community.
The nest of the Peregrine is generally situated on a
ledge or in a cavity of sea-cliffs or inland crags, and has
been occasionally found on elevated buildings. The
eggs are generally three, not uncommonly four, in
number.
In treating of this bird as above, from a falconer’s
point of view, I have advisedly used the feminine article,
as from that standpoint the word Palcon is applied
exclusively to the female bird, which is very much larger
and more powerful than the male, and consequently held
in higher estimation for sporting-purposes; the latter,
in the language of falconry, is known as Tiercel. The
progress of cultivation and consequent enclosure have
virtually circumscribed the available area for falconry in
our country to a very great extent, an open treeless
district being the first essential to its successful practice
; but in spite of every difficulty the noble art is still
kept up in our islands, and by many of the officers of
our army in India, where it can be carried out in the
most favourable circumstances, with results quite unattainable
at home.
The Peregrine ranges over the whole of Europe and
Asia, and is represented by very closely allied forms in
Africa, Australia, and the New World.