Francis Heatherley

Name: The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie — General Remarks On the Peregrine
Author: Francis Heatherley

The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

Summary

“The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie — General Remarks On the Peregrine”, published in 1913, is a work by Francis Heatherley. It explores elements such as Tiercel, Falcon and eyrie.

Quotes from The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (Francis Heatherley)

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ Moreover, the Falcon, whether actuated by hatred of man or not, showed me her version of the hunger strike, a fearsome thing as watched by mere man with one eye on his own future, for in the avian version it is the husband and helpless young that do the starving. What makes me believe that what I saw is the natural habit of the Peregrine is that in this crisis the Tiercel, though evidently anxious to feed the young, never attempted to do any hunting himself, although there were plenty of birds about. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ That grand bird, the Gyr Falcon of Iceland, is now on the very verge of extinction owing to the way it is being harried by ornithologists and collectors employed by wealthy dilettanti. Reasoned remonstrances are of no avail against this senseless destruction of rare birds, and more and more will become extinct unless the formation of private collections is made illegal. The multiplication of museums is also of doubtful benefit. No town is complete nowadays without a museum, and its curator, of course, desires all the rarest birds to be represented. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ On my last visit to Chester Museum, one of the best in the kingdom, I found the latest acquisition was an osprey shot in the neighbourhood. Considering that nine-tenths of the visitors do not probably know an osprey from an ostrich, and do not care, I think a museum is the wrong place for a bird which is nearly extinct. Words, however, have as little effect as the sandwich-boards carried about in London imploring women not to wear rare birds' feathers in their hats ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ Their sense of hearing is extremely acute, although, as in other birds, constant repetition of a sound which is not followed by anything untoward leads eventually to no attention being shown. This trait, owing to superior boldness, was more marked in the Tiercel than the Falcon, and this sexual characteristic was also evident in the full-fledged young. I have not had any opportunity of watching the, young being trained to hunt after they leave the eyrie, but can readily believe that it is more efficient than when undertaken by the falconer. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ Notwithstanding their liveliness in getting to the front when feeding was going on, and the fact that the Tiercel always seemed to take care that the males got enough, yet one always seemed to fare the worst, so that at the end of their stay in the eyrie, though there was no perceptible difference between the two females, one of the males might always be singled out as the Benjamin of the family. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ As, regards their psychology, I look upon birds in general as absent-minded beggars, with rather more reasoning powers than we, their rich relations, credit them with. By absent-mindedness I, of course, mean their wonderful instincts. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ Minute description of plumage, leading to the discovery of what is called a subspecies, which leads in turn to the slaughter of hundreds of birds in order that those who wish to be considered ornithologists may see their names in print, is one of the saddest features of modern ornithology, while the wholesale meddling with scientific nomenclature has rendered it almost useless as a means of communication with foreigners. Rare birds have no greater enemy than the scientific collector. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Francis Heatherley, The Peregrine Falcon at the Eyrie… (1913)

“ The natural way of feeding the young is for the adult to divide the prey among the young. If it were usu4l for the prey to be simply dropped into the eyrie, as happened when on occasions the Falcon brought a bird during the Tiercel's absence, I think the young males would have stood a very poor chance beside their voracious sisters—that is, presuming I am right in concluding that the larger young are females. ”

Francis Heatherley

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