Page:The peregrine falcon at the eyrie (IA cu31924084757206).pdf/63

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10.50 he paid another visit to the eyrie, and stood again in exactly the same attitude. Afterwards on developing the negatives I found that in the first his beak is all covered with down, which has nearly gone in the second. Now, in that of him shaking himself after the last meal the beak is quite clean, so that in the interval he must have had a meal by himself. At each of these visits he dropped into the eyrie and searched for dried scraps for the young, who were getting hungry. After he had gone one female routed out a pigeon's leg, and pecked a long time at the pink claws as if attracted by the colour. Then her sister dispossessed her of it, and tried to swallow it in a hurry. She got it all down, claws first, but it would not stay down, so then she tried to peck it to bits, but happening to take her foot off it a young male, who had been