PEREGRINE FALCON (OF. peregrin, vele rin, Fr. peregrine, from Lat. peregrines, foreign, stranger. from prrager, being in foreign places, front per, through -- ogee, field ; ultimately con nected with English acre). A species of falcon (Falco peregrines) found in almost all parts of the Northern Ilemisphere, and in Africa and South America. The female is about 18 inches long, the male only about 15 inches. The female is the 'falcon' of falconers, and the male the 'tercel.' The peregrine falcon of America is popularly known as the 'duck hawk,' and is regarded by ornithologists as a subspecies (ana tem) of the European bird ; the form front the northwest coast of America is also regarded as another subspecies (Pealei). The back. wings, and tail are bluish-gray, the feathers barred with a darker tint ; the crown, neck, and a spot below the eye, nearly black; the throat white, with (lark longitudinal lines; the breast, bell•, and legs, whitish, with dark bars. The wings reach al
most to the tip of the tail ; and the bird is remarkable for its power of flight. The peregrine falcon can easily tly with a bird or quadruped fully its own weight. Its ordinary prey' consists of clucks, grouse, woodcocks, and rabbits. Owing to the quantity of preserved game the peregrine falcon captures, it is ruthlessly destroyed in Great Britain and is in danger of extermination. It makes its nest on ledges of high rocks and lays from two to four eggs. It nested on the Palisades of the Hudson as late as 1899. Nu merous localities in Great Britain have long been noted as breeding places of the peregrine falcon, and some of them are regularly visited for the young birds, which are still trained in certain places for the sport of falconry. For the American bird, consult Fisher, Hawks and Owls of the United States (Washington, 1893). See Plates of EAGLES AND HAWKS; FALCONS AND FALCONRY.