Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/77

 FALCON" 69 The lanner (F. lanarius, Linn.) seems to be an undoubted species of northern Europe and Asia, and intermediate between the gerfalcon and the peregrine ; it is about 1|- ft. long, with wings two thirds as long as the tail ; its colors resemble those of the young peregrine, and the Lanner Falcon (F. lanarius). name has even been applied to immature birds of this species ; but Mr. Gould, in his " Birds of Europe," figures and describes it as distinct. It has not the black spots on the cheeks, and the markings of the breast are longitudinal instead of transverse. The Iceland falcon or gerfalcon (F. gyrfalco, Linn.) is the largest of the genus, and varies much in its appearance at different ages. In the adult the head is nearly white, the feathers of the crown having hair- brown shafts, those of the nape having the brown more extensive ; the under parts are white, the breast, thighs, and tail coverts pure white, but the sides and abdomen are often Gerfalcon (Falco gyrfalco). spotted and lined with brown ; the upper parts have the centre of the feathers hair-brown, with a white margin ; the greater coverts, sec- ondaries, and quills are barred with brown and edged with white, and the two central feath- ers of the otherwise white tail are barred with brown; the bill is pale bluish gray, with the upper tooth and the lower notch strongly de- veloped ; the legs and feet are colored like the bill. Some specimens are almost entirely white. The length is from 20 to 24 in., the extent of wings a, little over 4 ft., the bill 1 and the tarsus 2 in. ; according to Audubon, in the im- mature state, as observed by him in Labrador, the female, though the larger and heavier bird, has the extent of wings less by an inch than the male; the weight of the male is a few ounces less, and that of the female a few ounces more than 3 Ibs. The form is that of a very powerful bird, the tail being longer in propor- tion than that of the peregrine, and the tarsi feathered If in. downward. It ranges over the northern regions of Europe and America ; Iceland is one" of its favorite resorts, so much so that the bird has received one of its most com- mon names from this island ; it is found along the precipitous shores of Norway and Sweden, and in Greenland, the arctic regions, and the Hudson bay district, extending as far south as Labrador, where Audubon found it breeding; it is rare in Great Britain, and is a northern and maritime species, especially frequent near the breeding places of sea fowl. In manner, flight, and cry it resembles the peregrine, be- ing if possible more daring. In falconry this species was highly prized, and extraordinary prices were formerly paid for individuals ; they were brought chiefly from Iceland and Nor- way. There is still much uncertainty about the varieties of this bird ; naturalists generally make but one species, but falconers are of opinion that the Iceland and the Norway birds are distinct species ; if the latter be true, the American bird may also prove different from any of the European species. The American bird is sometimes called F. Islandicus (Gmel.). Audubon describes and figures a pair of im- mature birds which he obtained in Labrador in August. The general color of the plumage in this condition is brownish gray above, the feathers having a narrow paler margin; the upper tail coverts, quills, and tail are tipped, spotted, and barred with brownish white ; the throat is brownish white, with five streaks of brown, and the lower parts generally are of the former color, longitudinally patched with dark brown ; the under tail coverts are striped alternately brown and white. The female has the same colors, except in having the two mid- dle tail feathers spotted with white like the others, these in the male being without the spots. The nest found by Audubon was about 2 ft. in diameter, flat, made of sticks, sea- weed, and mosses. The eggs, according to Mr. Yarrell, are dull white, mottled all over with pale reddish brown. They feed in Lab- rador on puffins, grouse, partridges, ducks, hares, and other animals of this size, and also on fish. Mr. Hancock (* ' Annals and Mag- azine of Natural History," vol. xiii., 1854, p. 110), who described the Greenland falcon (F.