the aid of a pocket-telescope, I had the satisfaction of identifying his species with certainty. Again, on July the 13th, 1833, when crossing the ferry near the junction of the river Bann with the ocean, I was attracted by the near call of a curlew, and on looking round, saw coming towards us what at first appeared to be two of these birds, flying close together, just above the water. I was surprised to see the foremost dip in the river like a swallow, fly on a short way, and then repose on the water: the other bird, which proved to be a peregrine falcon, now gave up the chase, and sweeping past us, alighted on the beach at some distance. The curlew now finding it was safe, rose from the river and flew back in the direction whence it had been pursued. On the 12th of December, 1845, a wild "falcon" was observed flying over the grounds of Fort William, near Belfast, towards the bay, where some days before * a tercel was seen in pursuit of a redshank or dunlin, for a very long time. When the hawk made a swoop at its "quarry" on the bank, the redshank dashed into the water; but whenever its enemy retreated, the dry land was sought again, and no sooner done, than the hawk endeavoured to seize it. This proceeding was repeated on the part of both, until eventually the hawk succeeded in capturing its victim before it could reach the water. On the 16th of the same month, a peregrine falcon,-most probably the same individual,—as the visits of the species are very "few and far between," was shot near Clifden, on the opposite side of the bay, when carrying off a redshank. The finest chase by the peregrine falcon of which I have heard, was communicated to me by Richard Langtry, Esq., on his return from Inverness-shire, after the shooting season of 1838. On the first day, in the beginning of August, that he went out from Aberarder towards Loch Ruthven, he observed an eyrie of these birds in the mountain cliffs on its western side. Among those which darkly beetle above Loch Cor, on the opposite side, a pair formerly nestled. The old pair were seen that day. One * Tercel is the name applied in falconry to the male, as Falcon is to the female of this species. of them struck a heron, and also a gray crow that came near, though without pursuing, or caring to pursue either to the death. Very different were curlews treated one day at the end of August, to seize which every attempt was made. My friend and his companions were fishing on Loch Ruthven, when a flock of nine of these birds appeared. Immediately afterwards, a tercel came in sight, bearing down upon them so suddenly, as to be hardly seen until he had singled out and swept one of them from a height of about fifty yards into the lake. Here he pounced at it, but without striking, though it did not go beneath the surface of the water. On the tercel's flying a little way off, to take one of his bold circles when the quarry is put down, or "at bay," the curlew rose to follow the flock, and had got away about a hundred yards when the tercel again bore down upon it. Refuge was a second time taken upon the lake. This was repeated not less than ten times. The speed of the tercel's flight was considered to be twice that of the curlew's, as, when circling about two hundred yards off, he never gave his desired victim leave to get more than about half that distance ahead, until he had it down again. The curlew, though apparently more fatigued and worn out every time it was put down,-the last time hardly able to rise from the lake,-escaped, in consequence of the flock from which it came, or a similar number of birds, appearing in sight, when its persecutor betook himself after them. He very soon had one of this flock also in the water, and enacted just the same part towards it as he had done towards the other. It was put down to the lake at least a dozen times, and along a great extent of its surface, once between the boats of the fishing party, not more than about fifty yards distant from each other. The hawk and curlew were both several times within about twenty yards of the boats, and once indeed, the latter, closely pursued, took the water just before the bow of one of them. Eventually, the tercel left off the chase, though, as in the former instance, the curlew was nearly worn out. The poor bird now seeing two of its species. come in sight, joined them, and they all went off safely in com pany.* The chase was continued so long, that two of my friends, whose taste inclined more to fishing than to hawking, resumed their avocation, though, as sportsmen, highly enjoying the chase at first; but the third, who communicated the circumstance, possessing trained falcons himself, witnessed it to the last, and described the swoops made by the wild bird as bolder, and its flight certainly more swift, than that of any trained one he had ever seen.† My friend was told that these peregrine falcons destroy numbers of rooks; and he remarked many of the feathers of these birds, at the chief feeding-ground to which their prey is borne to be eaten; a hill top at the opposite side of the lake from their eyrie. They are said to persecute the gray crows, whenever these come in their way," between the wind and their nobility,"—though apparently not caring for them as food. Every day on which my friend went in the direction of Loch Ruthven, from the 10th of August until the middle of September, he saw the old pair of peregrines, their blue backs marking them as such, from the height at which he looked down upon them. From the latter period until the end of October, when he left Aberarder, they were not seen by him. The general belief, however, in that neighbourhood, is, that the old birds remain all the year there, but that the young leave it about the end of September. Trained Peregrine Falcons.1-Some of our north of Ireland * When any quarry, pursued by one of these falcons, gains even the surface of the water, it is almost invariably safe, in consequence of its being unnatural for the species to strike at any object on that element. But it would appear that necessity will sometimes compel a departure from this rule, as an accurate observer informs me, that he once saw a peregrine falcon stoop to a flock of razorbills, or guillemots, sitting on the water at the Gobbins, and bear one off to its eyrie near the summit of the cliff. The prey was obviously larger than the hawk. Macgillivray alludes to this species carrying a greater weight than itself, in his Hist. Brit. Birds, vol. iii. p. 307. One of his own falcons, when at liberty, flew at and put into a pipe,-as harriers ofter do a hare in hunting,—a full-grown curlew. The same falcon was beaten by a sea-gull (L. canus ?), which, during a pursuit of about half an hour's continuance, it could not seize, owing to the sudden turns, ("twirlings," as it was expressed,) of the gull, that screamed loudly all the time. ‡ O'Flaherty, in his West or H-Iar Connaught, written in 1684, remarks, when describing the Isles of Arran, off Galway bay:-"Here are ayries of hawkes," to which the editor (Mr. Hardiman) in 1846, adds in a note, that "they were formerly trained in Iar-Connaught for field-sport, and were held in high esteem. Morogh na Maor O'Flaherty, of Bunowen, in Conamara, by his will, dated 13th April, A.D. eyries have been annually in requisition for more than thirty years, to supply different sportsmen, but chiefly my friend, John Sinclaire, Esq., with falcons for the chase.* The best time to secure the young, is just before they essay their wings, but they are sometimes taken at an earlier period, when arrayed in a costume of pure white down. They are generally three in number, but, in a few instances, four have been obtained; in which case, one is generally much smaller than the others. An exception to this occurred at Salagh Braes, in 1838, when all four were of similar size; and, what is most unusual, of the same sex, being females. Three females and one male were, in another instance, the produce of a nest; but the two sexes are, upon the whole, considered to be about equal in number,-the females, perhaps, rather preponderating. If either an old male or female be killed in the breeding season, (not an uncommon circumstance,) another mate is found within a very few days; so that the eyries, notwithstanding such casualties, are sure to turn out their complement of young. An addled egg is not unfrequently brought from the nest with the young birds, when of a proper age to be reared; from which it would appear, that there is no desire on the part of of the parent birds to get rid of it. Mr. Sinclaire states, that on going to obtain these hawks,-which is done by a person suspended from the summit of the cliff by a rope, he has often seen the tercel, or male bird, circling at a great height in the air, with prey for the eyrie, while the female, loudly screaming, kept flying about the vicinity of the nest. The food was then dropped by the tercel, and as it fell through the air was seized by his partner, who bore it off to the young. In captivity, when growing, they eat twice or thrice as much as after they have attained full size, which they do very soon. The greatest regularity in 1626, directed that his third son, Bryan O'Flahertie, should have the Cleggan, an extensive tract in the barony of Balinahinch 'excepting onelie the Aiery of hawks upon Barnanoran,' reserved for his eldest son, Morogh na Mart." In High Island, also, it is remarked, that “yearlie an ayrie of hawkes is found,” p. 115. * One of these localities in Ballynascreen, county of Londonderry, frequented from time immemorial by the peregrine falcon, is called Craig-na-shoke, or rock of the hawks. feeding them is requisite, otherwise they get a "taint," or want of full development of the feathers, which is evinced by a light marking on the colour of the tail and quills, and what is not so apparent, though of much more consequence, a weakness in the shaft of the feather at the place. My informant believes this taint to be apparent in the feather, in consequence of even one day's "starvation." Not only are the tails of birds badly fed tainted by a lighter marking than ordinary, but the wings will not attain within an inch and half of the length they should do; a most important point with regard to their power of flight. Eyries in the south-west of Scotland, where Mr. Sinclaire has of late years chiefly resided, have been likewise in requisition to supply him with these birds. The inland cliffs of the finelyformed mountain of Knockdolian, in Ayrshire, called by seamen the "False Craig," from its being occasionally mistaken for Ailsa, thus paid tribute in 1839. Others are:-at Ailsa; one, in the neighbourhood of the town of Ayr; two, in sea-cliffs near Ballantrae, the one about five miles northward, and the other, four miles southward of it; also, two in sea-cliffs to the north and south of Portpatrick ;—in all seven eyries. Occasionally, both in Ireland and Scotland, I have had the pleasure of witnessing flights with these hawks. It is truly a beautiful and interesting sight, to behold the intelligent bird sweeping boldly overhead, and following its master, the comparative slowness of whose motion sadly taxes its patience. It will alight on the ground, on a stone, or other eminence, be it small or great, to await his coming. The most convenient that presented itself, in an open space of moor near Ballantrae, on one of the last days that I was so engaged, was the back of a greyhound, which was accordingly appropriated, as the backs of the setters very frequently are. The hawk was at some distance when the first grouse was sprung and shot, but the report of the gun brought it instantly to the spot, when it alighted on the wounded bird. The training evinced by the falcon's thus speeding to the place whence the report of the gun proceeds, is highly interesting. A covey of partridges was soon afterwards raised, and the hawk |