Page:The Natural History of Ireland vol1.djvu/71

 invited a large party, of which the fair sex, as in the olden time, formed a portion, to a day's hawking ; but on going to the mew, it was found that his peregrine falcon, having obtained her liberty, had killed and devoured a merlin (Falco asalon), her partner in captivity. The misfortune on such an occasion was not only the loss of the merlin, but was two-fold, as the feasting on it prevented the falcon's service in the chase for that day. The female of a pair of fine birds once in the possession of Mr. R. Ball, attacked and devoured a male taken from the same nest, after they had been kept for about a year, but she died a few days afterwards, in consequence of the wounds received in the contest.

Distances to which Trained Falcons sometimes fly, &c. — In the winter of 1820–21, Mr. Sinclaire having lost a trained falcon, knew nothing of her for some months, nor until a paragraph appeared in a Scotch newspaper, stating that a hawk, which had for some time frequented a rookery near Aberdeen, was killed, and on the bells attached to her, the name of "John Sinclaire, Belfast," was engraved. Another of this gentleman's falcons once left him, and took up her abode at a rookery about twelve miles distant from his place, remaining there for about six weeks, when she was again recaptured. When flown at rooks (Corvus frugilegus), this bird always struck down several before alighting to prey on one. A person who was eye-witness to the fact assures me, that he once in Scotland saw a trained falcon similarly strike to the ground five partridges in succession out of a covey, before stooping to any one ; but such occurrences are very rare.

In the summer of 1835, a female bird was shot near Castle Island, county of Kerry, in the act of killing a crow. A silver ring was fixed to her leg, and on it "J. Campbell, Treesbanks, Ayrshire, Scotland," was engraved. The male bird, on the follow- ing day, was shot on the nest, in an old castle, near where the female had been killed.*

We find a similar circumstance recorded in Borlase's Natural His- tory of Cornwall, published in 1758. But all that is said on the sub- ject of the species, had better be given. He remarks : —

Communicated to me by R. Chute, Esq.; also noticed in the Fourth Annual Report of the Dublin Nat. Hist. Society.