172 THE BIRDS OF ESSEX.
Mr. J. Pettitt, of Colchester, informs me that, in Feb., 1888, one visited
Paglesham, where his uncle, Mr. R.
Pettitt, made various unsuccessful at-
tempts to obtain it ; one day, when
he had no gun, he was able to get
near enough to see distinctly what
it was. Mr. J. F. T. Wiseman in-
forms me that one was shot there about
the middle of Nov., 1888.
Peregrine Falcon : Falco peregrinus.
Now only an uncommon and irregular winter visitor to Essex,
though it still breeds not very rarely on high rocky cliffs in other
parts of England. It
certainly does not
now breed in any part
of Essex, and Mr.
Clarke's record of its
having bred — pre-
sumably in a tree,
which is unusual—
at Sampford as lately
as 1843, is very inter-
esting. Most of the
specimens met with
are immature birds
of the year.
W. D. King says (20)
that in the district a-
round Sudbury it was rare
in his time. He adds :—
" In the winter of
1835-6, a splendid female
was shot in a meadow
close to our town by a
gentleman who kindly presented it to me. The following winter, I received a
fine adult male specimen shot at Borley."