Order Striges
Family Strigidæ
Sub-Family STRIGINÆ
THE BARN OWL
STRIX FLAMMEA
Beak yellowish white; upper parts light tawny yellow minutely variegated with brown, grey, and white; face and lower plumage white, the feathers of the margin tipped with brown. Length fourteen inches; breadth nearly three feet. Eggs white.
Returning from our Summer-evening’s walk at the pleasant time when twilight is deepening into night, when the Thrush has piped its last roundelay, and the Nightingale is gathering strength for a flesh flood of melody, a sudden exclamation from our companion ‘What was that?’ compels us to look in the direction pointed at just in time to catch a glimpse of a phantom-like body disappearing behind the hedge-row. But that the air is still, we might have imagined it to be a sheet of silver paper wafted along by the wind, so lightly and noiselessly did it pass on. We know, however, that a pair of Barn Owls have appropriated these hunting-grounds, and that this is their time of sallying forth; we are aware, too, how stealthily they fly along the lanes, dipping behind the trees, searching round the hay-stacks, skimming over the stubble, and all with an absence of sound that scarcely belongs to moving life. Yet, though by no means slow of flight, the Barn Owl can scarcely be said to cleave the air; rather, it fans its way onwards with its down-fringed wings, and the air, thus softly treated, quietly yields to the gentle force, and retires without murmur to allow it a passage. Not without meaning is this silence preserved. The nimble little animals that constitute the chase, are quick-sighted and sharp of hearing, but the pursuer gives no notice of his approach, and they know not their doom till they feel the inevitable talons in their sides. The victim secured, silence is no longer necessary. The successful hunter lifts up his voice in a sound of triumph, repairs to the nearest tree to regale himself on his prize, and, for a few minutes—that is, until the chase is resumed—utters his loud weird shriek again and again. In the morning, the Owl will retire to his private cell and will spend the day perched on end, dozing and digesting as long as the sunlight is too powerful for his large and sensitive eyes. Peep in on him in his privacy, and he will stretch out or move from side to side his grotesque head, ruffling his feathers, and hissing as though your performance were worthy of all condemnation. Yet he is a very handsome and most amusing bird, more worthy of being domesticated as a pet than many others held in high repute. Taken young from the nest, he is soon on familiar terms with his owner, recognizes him by a flapping of wings and a hiss whenever he approaches, clearing his premises of mice, and showing no signs of pining at the restriction placed on his liberty. Give him a bird, and he will soon show that, though contented with mice, he quite appreciates more refined fare. Grasping the body with his talons, he deliberately plucks off all the large feathers with his beak, tears off the head, and swallows it at one gulp, and then proceeds to devour the rest piece-meal. In a wild state his food consists mainly of mice, which he swallows whole, beetles, and sometimes fish, which he catches by pouncing on them in the water.
The service which the Barn Owl renders to the agriculturist, by its consumption of rats and mice, must be exceedingly great, yet it is little appreciated. “When it has young”, says Mr. Waterton, “it will bring a mouse to the nest every twelve or fifteen minutes. But in order to have a proper idea of the enormous quantity of mice which this bird destroys, we must examine the pellets which it ejects from its stomach in the place of its retreat. Every pellet contains from four to seven skeletons of mice. In sixteen months from the time that the apartment of the Owl on the old gateway was cleared out, there has been a deposit of above a bushel of pellets.”
The plumage of the Barn Owl is remarkable for its softness, its delicacy of pencilling on the upper parts and its snowy whiteness below. Its face is perfectly heart-shaped during life, but when the animal is dead becomes circular. The female is slightly larger than her mate, and her colours are somewhat darker. The nest of the Barn Owl is a rude structure placed in the bird’s daily haunt. The eggs vary in number, and the bird lays them at different periods, each egg after the first being hatched (partially at least) by the heat of the young birds already in being. That this is always the case it would not be safe to assert, but that it is so sometimes there can be no doubt. The young birds are ravenous eaters and proverbially ugly; when craving food they make a noise resembling a snore. The Barn or White Owl is said to be the most generally diffused of all the tribe, being found in almost all latitudes of both hemispheres, and it appears to be everywhere an object of terror to the ignorant. A bird of the night, the time when evil deeds are done, it bespeaks for itself an evil reputation; making ruins and hollow trees its resort, it becomes associated with the gloomiest legends; uttering its discordant note during the hours of darkness, it is rarely heard save by the benighted traveller, or by the weary watcher at the bed of the sick and dying; and who more susceptible of alarming impressions than these? It is therefore scarcely surprising that the common incident of a Screech-Owl being attracted by a solitary midnight taper to flutter against the window of a sick room, and there to utter its melancholy wail, should for a time shake the faith of the watcher, and, when repeated with the customary exaggerations, should obtain for the poor harmless mouser the unmerited title of ‘harbinger of death’.
Sub-Family SYRNIINÆ
LONG-EARED OWL
ASIO ÓTUS
Beak black; iris orange yellow; egrets very long, composed of eight or ten black feathers, edged with yellow and white; upper parts reddish yellow, mottled with brown and grey; lower parts lighter, with oblong streaks of deep brown. Length fifteen inches; breadth thirty-eight inches. Eggs white.
Though not among the most frequent of the English Owls, this species occurs in most of the wooded parts of England and Ireland, as indeed it does in nearly all parts of the world where woods are to be found. It is more common than is usually supposed in France, where it unites in its own person all the malpractises which have been popularly ascribed to the whole tribe of Owls. It is there said to be held in great detestation by all the rest of the feathered tribe; a fact which is turned to good account by the bird-catcher, who, having set his traps and limed twigs, conceals himself in the neighbourhood and imitates the note of this Owl. The little birds, impelled by rage or fear, or a silly combination of both, assemble for the purpose of mobbing the common enemy. In their anxiety to discern the object of their abhorrence, they fall one after another into the snare, and become the prey of the fowler. The Long-eared Owl is not altogether undeserving of the persecution which is thus intended for her, her principal food being field-mice, but also such little birds as she can surprise when asleep. In fact, she respects neither the person nor the property of her neighbours, making her home in the old nests of large birds and squirrels, and appropriating, as food for herself and her voracious young, the carcases of any that she finds herself strong enough to master and kill.
The cry of this bird is only occasionally uttered—a sort of barking noise. The note of the young bird is a loud mewing and seems to be intended as a petition to its parents for a supply of food. A writer in the Zoologist28 who has had many opportunities of observing this species in its native haunts, says that it does not confine its flight entirely to the darker hours, as he has met with it in the woods sailing quickly along, as if hawking, on a bright summer day. It is curious to observe, he says, how flat they invariably make their nests, so much so, that it is difficult to conceive how the eggs retain their position, even in a slight wind, when the parent bird leaves them. The eggs are four to six in number, and there are grounds for supposing that the female bird begins to sit as soon as she has laid her first egg.
THE SHORT-EARED OWL
ASIO ACCIPITRÍNUS
Face whitish; beak black; iris yellow; egrets inconspicuous, of a few black feathers; eyes encircled by brownish black; upper plumage dusky brown, edged with yellow; lower pale orange, streaked with brown. Length sixteen inches; breadth thirty-eight. Eggs white.
From the name, Hawk-Owl, sometimes given to this species, we should expect to find this bird not so decidedly nocturnal in its habits as the preceding; and such is the case; for, though it does not habitually hunt by day, it has been known to catch up chickens from the farmyard, and has been seen in chase of pigeons. If attacked during daylight, it does not evince the powerless dismay of the last species, but effects a masterly retreat by soaring in a spiral direction until it has attained an elevation to which its adversary does not care to follow it. Unlike its allies, it frequents neither mountains nor forests, but is found breeding in a few marshy or moorland districts; later in the year it is met with in turnip fields and stubbles. As many as twenty-eight were once seen in a single turnip-field in England; from whence it has been inferred that in autumn the Short-eared Owls are gregarious, and establish themselves for a time in any place they fall in with, where field-mice or other small quadrupeds are abundant. In England this bird is not uncommonly started by sportsmen when in pursuit of game. It then flies with a quick zigzag motion for about a hundred yards, and alights on the ground, never on a tree. By some it is called the Woodcock-Owl, from its arriving and departing at about the same time with that bird; it is not, however, invariably a bird of passage, since many instances are on record of its breeding in this country, making a rude nest in a thick bush, either on the ground, or close to it, and feeding its young on mice, small birds, and even the larger game, as Moor-fowl, a bird more than double its own weight. The Short-eared Owl affords a beautiful illustration of a fact not generally known, that the nocturnal birds of prey have the right and left ear differently formed, one ear being so made as to hear sounds from above, and the other from below. The opening into the channel for conveying sound is in the right ear, placed beneath the transverse fold, and directed upwards, while in the left ear the same opening is placed above the channel for conveying sound, and is directed downwards.
In the severe weather of January, 1861, I had the gratification of seeing three or four of these Owls among the sand-hills of the coast of Norfolk, near Holkham. I imagined them to be in pursuit of the Redwings and other small birds which had been driven by the intense cold to the sea-coast, since they flew about as Hawks do when hunting for prey, and occasionally alighted among the sand-hills. I even fell in with several heaps of feathers, showing where some unhappy bird had been picked and eaten. A few days afterwards, however, I inquired at another part of the coast whether there were any Owls there, and received for an answer, ‘No, because there are no Rabbits’; from which I inferred that these birds have the reputation of hunting larger game than Thrushes, a charge which the size and power of their hooked talons seem to justify.
THE TAWNY OWL
SYRNIUM ALÚCO
Beak greyish yellow; irides bluish dusky; upper parts reddish brown, variously marked and spotted with dark brown, black, and grey; large white spots on the scapulars and wing coverts; primaries and tail feathers barred alternately with dark and reddish brown; lower parts reddish white, with transverse brown bars and longitudinal dusky streaks; legs feathered to the claws. Length sixteen inches; breadth three feet. Eggs dull white.
This bird, the Ulula of the ancients, took its name from the Latin ululare; the word used to denote, and partially to imitate, the cry of the wolf; it enjoys also the doubtful honour of giving name to the whole tribe of ‘Owls’, whether they howl, hoot, or screech. This species is much more common than the Barn Owl in many districts, although it is decreasing in others. Owing to its nocturnal habits, and dusky colour, it is not so often seen as heard. It has many a time been my amusement to repair, towards the close of a summer evening, to a wood which I knew to be the resort of these birds, and to challenge them to an exchange of greetings, and I rarely failed to succeed. Their note may be imitated so exactly as to deceive even the birds themselves, by forming a hollow with the fingers and palms of the two hands, leaving an opening only between the second joints of the two thumbs, and then by blowing with considerable force down upon the opening thus made, so as to produce the sound hoo-hoo-hoo-o-o-o. I have thus induced a bird to follow me for some distance, echoing my defiance or greeting, or whatever he may have deemed it; but I do not recollect that I ever caught sight of the bird.
Squirrels, rats, mice, moles, shrews, and any small birds that he can surprise asleep, with insects, form his principal food. These he hunts by night, and retires for concealment by day to some thick tree or shrubbery, either in the hill country or the plains. The nest, composed principally of the dried pellets of undigested bones and fur, which all the Owls are in the habit of disgorging, is usually placed in a hollow tree: here the female lays about four eggs, from which emerge, in due time, as many grotesque bodies enveloped in a soft plush of grey yarn: destined, in due time, to become Tawny Owls. The full-grown females are larger than the males, and, being of a redder tinge, were formerly considered a distinct species. The old birds utter their loud hoo-hou! or to-whit, in-who! chiefly in the evening.
FAMILY FALCONIDÆ
Sub-Family BUTEONINÆ
MARSH HARRIER
CIRCUS ÆRUGINOSUS
Head, neck, and breast yellowish white, with numerous longitudinal brown streaks; wing-coverts reddish brown; primary quills white at the base, the rest black; tail and secondaries ash-grey; lower plumage reddish brown; beak bluish black; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. Length twenty inches. Eggs white.
The Harriers are bold predatory voracious birds, having somewhat of the appearance and movements of the Hawks. On a closer inspection, however, they are seen to approach nearer in character to the Owls. In the first place, they hunt their prey more in the morning and evening than at any other time of day. In the next place, these twilight habits are associated with a large head, and a somewhat defined face formed by a circle of short feathers; while the plumage generally is soft and loose, and their mode of hunting resembles that of the nocturnal predatory birds, rather than that of the Falcons. They are remarkable for the great difference which exists between the plumage of the two sexes, which has made the task of discriminating the number of species very difficult. Less active than the Falcons, they yet carry on a formidable war against small birds, reptiles, and mice. The Harriers or Harrows are so called from their harrying propensities. Of similar import is the etymology of the English word ‘havoc’, which may be clearly traced to the Anglo-Saxon hafoc, or hawk. The habit of the Marsh Harrier is not to station itself on a tree or rock, thereon to explore the country; but while hunting, it is always on the wing, skimming along the ground, and beating about the bushes with a noiseless, unsteady flight, and always taking its prey on the ground. Rabbit-warrens afford this bird a favourite hunting-ground, where it either pounces on such living animals as it can surprise, or performs the office of undertaker to the dead bodies of rabbits killed by the weasels, burying them in the grave of its craw. In this ignoble office it is said to be sometimes assisted by the Buzzard, and both birds have been accused of setting to work before their unhappy victim has breathed its last. On the sea-shore, the Marsh Harrier commits great depredations among young water-fowl, and is often mobbed and driven from the neighbourhood by the assembled old birds. The Partridge and Quail often, too, fall victims to its voracity, so that the Marsh Harrier receives no quarter from gamekeepers. It places its nest generally near water, in a tuft of rushes, or at the base of a bush, constructing it of sticks, rushes, and long grass, and lays three or four eggs.
The Marsh Harrier is a widely dispersed species, being found, says Temminck, in all countries where there are marshes. It occurs now but sparingly in most parts of Great Britain and Ireland. It is better known as the Moor Buzzard.
HEN HARRIER
CIRCUS CYÁNEUS
Tail longer than the wings; third and fourth primaries of equal length; upper plumage of the male bluish grey; lower white. Upper plumage of the female reddish brown; lower, pale reddish yellow, with deep orange brown longitudinal streaks and spots. Beak black; cere greenish yellow; irides reddish brown; feet yellow; claws black. Length, male, eighteen inches; female, twenty inches. Eggs white.
The Hen Harrier and Ringtail were formerly considered distinct species; and no wonder; for not only are they different in size, but dissimilar in colour, one having the upper parts grey, the lower white; and the other the upper parts reddish brown, and various parts of the plumage of a light colour, barred and streaked with deep brown. The experienced ornithologist, Montagu, suspecting that they were male and female of the same species, undertook to clear up the matter by rearing a brood taken from the same nest. The result was that at first there was no great difference except in size, all having the dark plumage of the Hen Harrier; but after the first moult, the males assumed the grey and white plumage, while the larger birds, the females, retained the gayer colouring, and the latter was the Ringtail. In habits both birds resemble the Marsh Harrier, but do not confine themselves to damp places. They frequent open plains, hillsides, and inclosed fields, hunting a few feet above the surface of the ground, and beating for game as skilfully as a well-trained spaniel. The moment that the Harrier sees a probable victim he rises to a height of twenty feet, hovers for a moment, and then comes down with unerring aim on his prey, striking dead with a single blow, Partridge or Pheasant, Grouse or Blackcock, and showing strength not to be expected from his light figure, and slender, though sharp talons. Not unfrequently he accompanies the sportsman, keeping carefully out of shot, and pouncing on the birds, killing them, and carrying them off to be devoured in retirement. He preys exclusively on animals killed by himself, destroying a great quantity of game small mammals, birds and reptiles. It is a generally-diffused bird, by no means so common as the Kestrel and Sparrow-hawk, but is met with occasionally in most countries of Europe and Asia, and in various parts of the British Isles. It is far from improbable that this bird may frequently be seen, without being recognized as belonging to the Hawk tribe; indeed, the beautiful form and light blue and white plumage, might cause it to be mistaken for a Gull. It builds a flattish nest of sticks, just raised above the round, in a heather, or furze-bush, and lays four to six eggs.
Wings a little longer than the tail; third primary longer than the fourth and second; upper plumage bluish grey; primaries black, secondaries with three transverse dark bars; lateral tail-feathers white barred with reddish orange; under plumage white, variously streaked with reddish orange. Female—upper plumage brown of various tints; under, pale reddish yellow, with longitudinal bright red streaks. Beak black; cere deep yellow; irides hazel; feet yellow; claws black. Length seventeen inches. Eggs bluish white.
This bird, which is of rare occurrence in Britain, resembles the Hen Harrier very closely, both in appearance and habits, although it is smaller and more slender, and the wings are longer in proportion. On the Continent, especially in Holland, it is more frequent. It received its name in honour of Colonel Montagu, who was the first to ascertain the identity of the Hen Harrier and Ringtail, and to separate the present species from both.
COMMON BUZZARD
BUTEO VULGARIS
Upper plumage, neck and head, dark brown; lower, greyish brown, mottled with darker brown; tail marked with twelve dark transverse bands; beak lead-coloured; cere, iris, and feet yellow. Length twenty to twenty-two inches. Eggs white, variously marked with pale greenish brown.
The Buzzard, though ranked very properly among birds belonging to the Falcon tribe, is deficient in the graceful activity which characterizes the true Falcons. In sluggishness of habits it approaches the Vultures, and in its soft plumage and mode of flight the Owls; but differs from the former in feeding on live prey as well as carrion, and from the latter in its diurnal habits. In form indeed it resembles neither, being a bulky broad-winged Hawk, with stout legs and a short much-curved beak. It can fly swiftly enough when occasion requires, but its favourite custom is to take its station on some withered branch, or on the projecting corner of a rock, whence it can both obtain a good view of the surrounding country, and, when it has digested its last meal, sally forth in quest of a new one as soon as a victim comes within its range of observation. It pounces on this while on the ground, and pursues its chase with a low skimming flight, keeping a sharp look-out for moles, young hares and rabbits, mice, reptiles, small birds and insects. At times it rises high into the air, and, soaring in circles, examines the surface of the ground for carrion. It has neither the spirit nor daring of the noble Falcons, submitting patiently to the attacks of birds much less than itself, and flying from the Magpie or Jackdaw. As an architect the Buzzard displays no more constructive skill than other birds of its tribe, building its nest of a few sticks, either on a rock or in a tree, and not unfrequently occupying the deserted nest of some other bird. It has, however, a redeeming point, being a most assiduous nurse. The female sits close, and will allow the near approach of an intruder before she leaves her eggs. In captivity, strange to say, though by nature having a strong inclination for the flesh of chickens, she has been known to sit on the eggs of the domestic hen, to hatch a brood, and to rear them with as much solicitude as their natural mother could have shown, distributing to them morsels of raw meat, not comprehending, of course, their repugnance to such fare, and bearing with extreme patience and good humour their unaccountable preference for barley and crumbs of bread. The male bird is scarcely less affectionate as a parent: an instance being recorded of one, which, on the death of his partner, completed the period of incubation and reared the young brood by himself. The Buzzard rarely molests game, and more than compensates for the mischief it does work, by the destruction of undoubted vermin; yet the hostility shown by gamekeepers against all birds except those which it is their business to protect, has so thinned its numbers that the Buzzard, though once common, is now become rare.
THE HONEY BUZZARD
PERNIS APIVORUS
Lores or spaces between eyes and bill are covered with feathers. The head of male is ash-grey, his upper parts brown; three blackish bars cross the tail; upper parts white-barred and spotted with brown on the breast. Length twenty-two to twenty-five inches; female slighter the larger.
This species visits us during May and June, and a few stay to nest, placing the nest upon the remains of that of some other large bird. Wasps, wild bees and larvae form their food in summer, but other insects are eaten, and sometimes mice, birds, other small mammals, worms and slugs. From two to four eggs are laid, both male and female taking part in the incubation. The sitting bird is regularly fed by the other.
The Honey Buzzard has bred from the New Forest up to Aberdeenshire. Unfortunately, as much as £5 having been offered for a couple of well-marked eggs of this species in the New Forest by collectors, their numbers have become very few. Nearly £40 has been offered by extravagant collectors for a good pair of the birds. By the year 1870 nearly all were driven away from that district.
THE ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD
BUTEO LAGÓPUS
Tarsi feathered to the claws; plumage yellowish white, variegated with several shades of brown; a broad patch of brown on the breast; tail white in the basal half, the rest uniform brown; beak black; cere and irides yellow; feathers on the legs fawn-coloured, spotted with brown; toes yellow; claws black. Length twenty-six inches. Eggs whitish, clouded with reddish brown.
This bird, which is distinguished from the preceding by having its legs thickly clothed with long feathers, is a native of the colder countries of both Continents, being only an occasional visitor in Great Britain during autumn and winter. It is sometimes seen in large flights on the Yarmouth Denes in October and November, at the same time with the Short-horned Owl. It mostly frequents the banks of rivers, where it feeds on vermin, reptiles, and the carcases of animals brought down by the floods. In softness of plumage and mode of flight, it resembles the Owls even more than the preceding species, and often extends its hunting expeditions until far into the evening. When not alarmed, it flies slowly and deliberately, and seemingly has neither the inclination nor the power to attack living birds, unless they have been previously disabled by wounds or other cause. The Rough-legged Buzzard builds its nest in lofty trees, and lays three or four eggs; but there are no well-authenticated instances of its breeding in this country.
THE SPOTTED EAGLE
AQUILA NÆVIA
General colour reddish brown; tail brown above; legs feathered in front of the toes. Length twenty-six inches.
This species is only a rare straggler to Great Britain.
Sub-Family AQUILINÆ
THE GOLDEN EAGLE
AQUILA CHRYSAËTOS
Tail longer than the wings, rounded; plumage of the head, back of the neck and legs, lustrous reddish brown, of the rest of the body dark brown; primaries nearly black; secondaries brownish black; tail dark grey, barred and tipped with brownish black; beak bluish at the base, black at the extremity; iris brown; cere and feet yellow; claws bluish black. Length of the male three feet, that of the female more; breadth eight feet. Eggs dirty white, mottled with pale reddish brown.
The fable of the Eagle soaring to a great height in order to enjoy a gaze at the sun in his unclouded brilliancy, is founded probably on a belief of the ancients, thus stated by the naturalist Pliny:—‘Before its young are as yet fledged, the Eagle compels them to gaze at the rays of the sun, and if it observes one to wink or show a watery eye casts it from the nest as a degenerate offspring; if, on the contrary, it preserves a steady gaze, it is saved from this hard fate, and brought up.’
‘The Golden Eagle’, says Macgillivray, ‘seems to prefer live prey to carrion, and easily secures Grouse, in searching for which it flies low on the moors, sailing and wheeling at intervals. Hares, roes, and even red deer, it also attacks, but it does not haunt the shores for fish so much as the Sea Eagle does. There seems very little probability that Eagles have the sense of smell very acute, but that their vision is so is evident. I am not, however, inclined to think that they perceive objects from the vast height to which they sometimes soar, because I never saw one descend from such an elevation in a manner indicating that it had observed a carcase or other eatable object; whereas, on the other hand, I have very frequently seen them flying along the sides of the hills, at a small height, obviously in search of food, in a manner somewhat resembling that of the Sparrow-Hawk, but with much less rapidity.’
The Golden Eagle breeds only in the Highlands, but it is not an unfrequent visitor to the Lowlands of Scotland in the cold season. Those birds which have been recorded as visiting England were generally not this species but the White-tailed or Sea Eagle in immature plumage. It prefers mountains or extensive forests, building its eyrie either on rocks or lofty trees. In France, Sweden, Spain, and Switzerland, it is frequently observed. Its note, called in the Highlands ‘a bark’, is sharp and loud, resembling at a distance, as, on the only occasion I ever heard it, it seemed to me, the croak of a Raven. It lays two or sometimes three eggs, and feeds its young, which are very voracious, on birds and the smaller quadrupeds.
THE WHITE-TAILED (SEA) EAGLE
HALIAËTUS ALBICILLA
Tail not longer than the wings; upper plumage brown, that of the head and neck lightest, lower, chocolate brown; tail white; beak, cere, and feet yellowish white; claws black. In young birds the tail is dark brown, and the beak and cere are of a darker hue. Length of the male, two feet four inches; of the female, two feet ten inches. Eggs dirty white with a few pale red marks.
The White-tailed Eagle, known also by the name of the Sea Eagle, is about equal in size to the Golden Eagle, but differs considerably in character and habits; for while the latter has been known to pounce on a pack of Grouse and carry off two or three from before the very eyes of the astonished sportsman and his dogs, or to appropriate for his own special picking a hunted hare when about to become the prey of the hounds, the White-tailed Eagle has been observed to fly terror-struck from a pair of Skua Gulls, making no return for their heavy buffets but a series of dastardly shrieks. The ordinary food, too, of the nobler bird is living animals, though, to tell the truth, he is always ready to save himself the trouble of a chase, if he can meet with the carcase of a sheep or lamb; but the White-tailed Eagle feeds principally on fish, water-fowl, the smaller quadrupeds, and offal, whether of quadrupeds, birds, or fish. On such fare, when pressed by hunger, he feeds so greedily that he gorges himself till, unable to rise, he becomes the easy prey of the shepherd’s boy armed but with a stick or stone. The Eagle is sometimes seen on the southern sea-board of England in autumn and winter when the younger birds that have been reared in the north of Europe are migrating south; but its eyries are now only on the west and north coasts, and especially the Shetland Islands. It inhabits Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and the north of England, where it frequents the vicinity of the sea and large lakes. In winter it appears to leave the high latitudes and come farther south, not perhaps so much on account of cold as because its ordinary prey, being driven to seek a genial climate, it is compelled to accompany its food. Consequently it is more abundant in Scotland during winter than summer, and when seen late in autumn is generally observed to be flying south, in early spring northwards. It builds its nest either in forests, choosing the summit of the loftiest trees, or among inaccessible cliffs overhanging the sea. The materials are sticks, heath, tufts of grass, dry sea-weed, and it lays two eggs. The young are very voracious, and are fed by the parent birds for some time after they have left the nest, but when able to provide for themselves are driven from the neighbourhood to seek food and a home elsewhere.
THE OSPREY
PANDÍON HALIAËTUS
Wings longer than the tail; feathers of the head and neck white, with dark centres; on each side of the neck a streak of blackish brown, extending downwards; upper plumage generally deep brown; under white, tinged here and there with yellow, and on the breast marked with arrow-shaped spots; tail-feathers barred with dusky bands; cere and beak dark grey; iris yellow. Length two feet; breadth five feet. Eggs reddish white, blotched and spotted with dark reddish brown.
‘Endowed with intense keenness of sight, it hovers high in the air, and having descried a fish in the sea, it darts down with great rapidity, dashes aside the water with its body, and seizes its prey in an instant.’ So says the ancient naturalist Pliny, describing a bird which he calls Haliaëtus, or Sea Eagle. Eighteen centuries later, Montagu thus described a bird, which, when he first observed it, was hawking for fish on the river Avon, near Aveton Gifford, in Devonshire: ‘At last’, he says, ‘its attention was arrested, and like the Kestrel in search of mice, it became stationary, as if examining what had attracted its attention. After a pause of some time, it descended to within about fifty yards of the surface of the water, and there continued hovering for another short interval, and then precipitated itself into the water with such great celerity as to be nearly immersed. In three or four minutes the bird rose without any apparent difficulty, and carried off a trout of moderate size, and instead of alighting to regale upon its prey, soared to a prodigious height, and did not descend within our view.’ There can be no reasonable doubt that the bird thus described at such distant intervals of time is the same, and that the Sea Eagle of the ancients is the Osprey of the moderns. Wilson thus eloquently describes its habits under the name of the ‘Fish Hawk’: “Elevated on the high dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a wide view of the neighbouring shore and ocean, the great White-headed Eagle seems calmly to contemplate the motions of the various feathered tribes that pursue their busy vocations below. High over all these hovers one whose actions instantly arrest all his attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspension in air, he knows him to be the Fish Hawk settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-open wings on the branch, he watches the result. Down, rapid as an arrow from heaven, descends the distant object of his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it disappears in the deep, making the surges foam around. At this moment the eager looks of the Eagle are all ardour; and, levelling his neck for flight, he sees the Fish Hawk once more emerge struggling with his prey, and mounting in the air with screams of exultation. These are the signals for our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives chase, soon gains on the Fish Hawk: each exerts his utmost to mount above the other, displaying in the rencontres the most elegant and sublime aërial evolutions. The unincumbered Eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reaching his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish; the Eagle, poising himself for a moment, as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten booty silently away to the woods.”
The Osprey has been observed on various parts of the coast of Great Britain and Ireland, especially in autumn, and in the neighbourhood of the Scottish Lakes, not merely as a stray visitor, but making itself entirely at home. It is known in Sussex and Hampshire, as the Mullet Hawk, because of its liking for that fish. It may be considered as a citizen of the world, for it has been found in various parts of Europe, the Cape of Good Hope, India, and New Holland. In America, we have already seen, it is abundant. It builds its nest of sticks on some rock or ruin, generally near the water, and lays two or three eggs. It has not been known to breed in Ireland.
Sub-Family ACCIPITRINÆ
THE SPARROW-HAWK
ACCÍPITER NISUS
Upper plumage dark bluish grey, with a white spot on the nape of the neck; lower reddish white, transversely barred with deep brown; tail grey, barred with brownish black; beak blue, lightest at the base; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. Female—upper parts brown passing into blackish grey; lower, greyish white barred with dark grey. Length, male twelve inches, female fifteen inches; breadth, male twenty-four inches, female twenty-eight inches. Eggs bluish white, blotched and spotted with deep rusty brown.
Since the introduction of firearms, the Goshawk and Sparrow-Hawk have lost much of their reputation, every effort being now made to exterminate them, for carrying on, on their own account, the same practises which in bygone days they were enlisted to pursue on behalf of others. For hawking, it must be remembered, was not exclusively a pastime followed by the high and noble for amusement’s sake, but was, in one of its branches, at least, a very convenient method of supplying the table with game; and that, too, at a period when there were not the same appliances, in the shape of turnips, oil-cake, etc., for fattening cattle and producing beef and mutton in unlimited quantities, that there are now. The produce of the fish-ponds, woods, and fields was then a matter of some moment, and much depended on the training of the Hawks and diligence of the falconer whether the daily board should be plentifully or scantily furnished. In recent times, even, some idea of the intrinsic value of a good Hawk may be gathered from the fact that, in Lombardy, it was thought nothing extraordinary for a single Sparrow-Hawk to take for his master from seventy to eighty Quails in a single day. In the Danubian Provinces and in Hungary, the practise of hunting Quails with Sparrow-hawks is still in vogue; but with us, the agile bird is left to pursue his prey on his own account. And right well does he exercise his calling. Unlike the Kestrel, which soars high in air and mostly preys on animals which when once seen have no power of escape, the Sparrow-Hawk is marked by its dashing, onward flight. Skimming rapidly across the open fields, by no means refusing to swoop on any bird or quadruped worthy of its notice, but not preferring this kind of hunting-ground, it wings its easy way to the nearest hedge, darts along by the side, turns sharply to the right or left through an opening caused by a gate or gap, and woe to any little bird which it may encounter, either perched on a twig or resting on the ground. Unerring in aim, and secure of its holdfast, it allows its victims no chance of escape, one miserable scream, and their fate is sealed. And even if the prey detects its coming enemy, and seeks safety in flight, its only hope is to slip into the thick bushes and trust to concealment: resort to the open field is all but certain death. Nor is it fastidious in its choice of food—leverets, young rabbits, mice, partridges, thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, larks, pipits, and many others are equal favourites. It resorts very frequently to the homestead and farmyard, not so much in quest of chickens, which, by the way, it does not despise, as for the sake of the small birds which abound in such places. There it is a bold robber, little heeding the presence of men, suddenly dashing from behind some barn or corn-rick, and rapidly disappearing with its luckless prey struggling in its talons, pursued, perhaps, by the vociferous twitter of the outraged flock, but not dispirited against another onslaught. This coursing for its prey, though the usual, is not the only method of furnishing his larder pursued by the Sparrow-Hawk. He has been known to station himself on the branch of a tree in the neighbourhood of some favourite resort of Sparrows, concealed himself, but commanding a fair view of the flock below. With an intent as deadly as that of the fowler when he points his gun, he puts on the attitude of flight before he quits his perch, then selecting his victim, and pouncing on it all but simultaneously, he retires to devour his meal and to return to his post as soon as the hubbub he has excited has subsided somewhat. At times he pays dear for his temerity. Pouncing on a bird which the sportsman has put up and missed, he receives the contents of the second barrel; making a swoop on the bird-catcher’s call-bird, he becomes entangled in the meshes; or dashing through a glazed window at a caged Canary bird, he finds his retreat cut off.
As is the case with most predaceous birds, the female is larger and bolder than the male, and will attack birds superior to herself in size. Though a fierce enemy, she is an affectionate mother, and will defend her young at the risk of her life. She builds her nest, or appropriates the deserted nest of a Crow, in trees, or if they be wanting, in a cliff, and lays four or five eggs. The young are very voracious, and are fed principally on small birds, the number of which consumed may be inferred from the fact that no less than sixteen Larks, Sparrows, and other small birds, were on one occasion found in a nest, the female parent belonging to which had been shot while conveying to them a young bird just brought to the neighbourhood of the nest by the male; the latter, it was conjectured, having brought them all, and deposited them in the nest in the interval of nine hours which had elapsed between their discovery and the death of his partner.
The Sparrow-Hawk is found in most wooded districts of Great Britain and Ireland, and the greater part of the Eastern Continent.
Sub-Family MILVINÆ
THE RED KITE
MILVUS ICTINUS
Upper parts reddish brown; the feathers with pale edges; those of the head and neck long and tapering to a point, greyish white, streaked longitudinally with brown; lower parts rust coloured, with longitudinal brown streaks; tail reddish orange, barred indistinctly with brown; beak horn coloured; cere, irides, and feet yellow; claws black. Female—upper plumage of a deeper brown; the feathers pale at the extremity; head and neck white. Length, twenty-five inches; breadth, five feet six inches. Eggs dirty white, spotted at the larger end with red-brown.
‘The Kite’, Pliny informs us, ‘seems, by the movement of its tail, to have taught mankind the art of steering—nature pointing out in the air what is necessary in the sea’. The movement of the bird through the air indeed resembles sailing more than flying. ‘One cannot’ says Buffon, ‘but admire the manner in which the flight of the Kite is performed; his long and narrow wings seem motionless; it is his tail that seems to direct all his evolutions, and he moves it continuously; he rises without effort, comes down as if he were sliding along an inclined plane; he seems rather to swim than to fly; he darts forward, slackens his speed, stops, and remains suspended or fixed in the same place for whole hours without exhibiting the smallest motion of his wings.’ The Kite generally moves along at a moderate height, but sometimes, like the Eagle, rises to the more elevated regions of the air, where it may always be distinguished by its long wings and forked tail.
In France, it is known by the name ‘Milan Royal’, the latter title being given to it not on account of any fancied regal qualities, but because in ancient times it was subservient to the pleasures of princes. In those times, hawking at the Kite and Heron was the only kind of sport dignified with the title of ‘Chase Royal’, and no one—not even a nobleman—could attack the Kite and Heron without infringing the privileges of the king.
Though larger than the noble Falcons, it is far inferior to them in daring and muscular strength; cowardly in attacking the strong, pitiless to the weak. It rarely assails a bird on the wing, but takes its prey on the ground, where nothing inferior to itself in courage seems to come amiss to it. Moles, rats, mice, reptiles, and partridges, are its common food; it carries off also goslings, ducklings, and chickens, though it retires ignominiously before an angry hen. When pressed by hunger, it does not refuse the offal of animals, or dead fish; but being an expert fisherman, it does not confine itself to dead food of this kind, but pounces on such fish as it discerns floating near the surface of the water—carries them off in its talons, and devours them on shore.
The Kite is more abundant in the northern than the southern countries of Europe, to which latter, however, numerous individuals migrate in autumn. It is of very rare occurrence in the southern counties of England, where no doubt it has gained discredit for many of the evil deeds of the Sparrow-Hawk. It builds its nest of sticks, lined with straw and moss, in lofty trees, and lays three or four eggs. A few still breed in some districts in Scotland, also in the wilder parts of Wales, but their eggs are, unfortunately, soon taken.
Sub-Family FALCONINÆ
THE PEREGRINE FALCON
FALCO PEREGRINUS
Tail not longer than the wings; upper plumage dark bluish grey with darker bands; head bluish black, as are also the moustaches descending from the gape; lower plumage white; breast transversely barred with brown; beak blue, darker at the point; cere yellow; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws black. Female—upper plumage tinged with brown, lower with reddish yellow. Length fifteen inches; female seventeen inches. Eggs dull light red, spotted and blotched with deep red.
The Peregrine Falcon occupies among the ‘noble’ birds of prey a place second only in dignity to the Gyr Falcon. Indeed, from its being more generally diffused and therefore more easily obtained, it is a question whether it was not considered, in England, at least, the special bird of falconry. In France it appears to have been used almost exclusively as the Falcon of the country; and as the number of Gyr Falcons imported to England must have fallen far short of the demand when the gentle science was in full vogue, here also the Peregrine must be considered the bird of falconry. The ‘noble’ Falcons were those which flew fearlessly on any birds, no matter how much larger they were than themselves, and at once deprived their prey of life by pouncing on a vital part, devouring the head before they lacerated the carcase. The name Peregrine (foreigner) was given to this bird on account of its wide dispersion through most regions of the globe, and for the same reason it has long borne in France the name of Pélerin (pilgrim), and not on account of its wide range in search of quarry. It is a bird of haughty aspect and rich colouring, sagacious, powerful, and daring; a type of the chivalry of the Middle Ages, a veritable knight-errant, always armed, and ready to do battle in any cause against all comers.
In France the Peregrine Falcon is most abundant in the marshy districts of the north, which are much frequented by Snipes and Wild Duck; with us it is most commonly seen in those parts of the sea-coast where sea-fowl abound. The high cliffs of the Isle of Wight, Beachy Head, North Wales, and the Scottish coast have been favourite haunts, and there it once reigned supreme among the feathered tribe, but it becomes more scarce, alas! of late. It makes its eyrie in the most inaccessible part of the cliff, constructing no nest, but laying two to four eggs in a cavity of a rock where a little loose earth has been deposited; sometimes in the deserted nest of the Raven or Carrion Crow. If either of the old birds happens to be shot during the period of breeding, it is incredible in how short a space of time the survivor finds a new mate. Within a short distance from their nest they establish a larder well supplied with Puffins, Jackdaws, and above all, Kestrels; while the immediate neighbourhood is strewed with bones. Remarkable as are both male and female bird for muscular power and high courage, the latter, which is also considerably larger, is by far the superior. The female was, consequently, in the days of falconry flown at Herons and Ducks, and she was the falcon proper among falconers; the male, termed a Tiercel or Tiercelet, was flown at Partridges and Pigeons. In their native haunts they seem to cause little alarm among the Puffins and Razor-bills by which they are surrounded, but the sudden appearance of a pair in a part of the cliff frequented by Jackdaws, causes terrible consternation; while any number of intruders on their own domain are driven away with indomitable courage. When pressed by hunger, or desirous of changing their diet, they condescend to attack and capture birds so small as a Lark, and it is remarkable that however puny may be the prey, the Falcon preserves its instinctive habit of dealing a deadly blow at once, as if afraid that under all circumstances the natural impulse of its quarry were to stand on the defensive. Even in ordinary flight the movement of its wings is exceedingly quick, but when it stoops on its prey its rapidity of descent is marvellous, accompanied too, as it is, by a sound that may be heard at a distance of two hundred yards. Perhaps no bird has had more written about it than this Falcon, numerous treatises have been composed on the art of ‘reclaiming’ it, or training it for hawking, and the proper method of conducting the sport. We have at present space only to add a few words on the latter subject. The art of the falconer is to intercept the Herons when flying against the wind. When a Heron passes, a cast or couple of Falcons are thrown off, which dart into the air, flying in a spiral direction to get above the Heron. As soon as the first has attained the necessary elevation, she makes a stoop, and if she misses, a second stoop is made by the other in her turn. When one has succeeded in striking its prey, the other joins in the attack, and all three birds come to the ground together, buoyed in their descent by their expanded wings. The falconer now comes to the rescue, for though the Heron makes no resistance in the air, as soon as it reaches the ground it uses its formidable beak in defence, and unless prevented may work much mischief to its pursuers.
As when a cast of Faulcons make their flight
At an Heronshaw that lyes aloft on wing,
The whyles they strike at him with heedlesse might
The wary foule his bill doth backward wring.
On which the first, whose force her first doth bring,
Herselfe quite through the bodie doth engore,
And falleth downe to ground like senselesse thing,
But th’ other, not so swift as she before,
Fayles of her souse, and passing by doth hurt no more.
Faerie Queene.
In France the ‘cast’ consisted of three Falcons, which were trained to perform particular duties, the first to start the game in the required direction, the second to keep guard over it, and the third to deal the fatal swoop.
The ‘Lanner’ of Pennant is a young female Peregrine.
THE HOBBY
FALCO SUBBUTEO
Wings longer than the tail; upper plumage bluish black; beneath, reddish yellow, with longitudinal brown streaks; moustaches broad, black; lower tail-coverts and feathers on the leg reddish; beak bluish, darker at the tip; cere greenish yellow; iris dark brown; feet yellow; claws black. Female—all the colours duller, and the streaks below broader. Length twelve to fourteen inches; breadth about two feet. Eggs yellowish white, speckled with reddish brown.
The Hobby is a less common bird in England than in France, where it is said to be a constant companion of the sportsman, and to be endowed with enough discrimination to keep out of shot. Not satisfied with appropriating to its own use wounded birds, it pursues and captures those which have been fired at unsuccessfully, and not unfrequently even those which have been put up but have not come within shot. It is frequently taken, too, in the nets spread for Larks, or inveigled into the snare of the fowler who pursues his craft with limed twigs and the imitated cry of the Owl. It is a bird of passage, both on the Continent and in England, arriving and taking its departure at about the same time with the Swallow. In form and colouring it somewhat resembles the Peregrine Falcon, but is much smaller and more slender; the wings, too, are larger in proportion, and the dark stripes beneath are longitudinal instead of transverse. Its natural prey consists for the most part of Larks and other small birds, beetles, and other large insects. It is said also to prey on Swallows; but swift as its flight undoubtedly is, it is somewhat doubtful whether these birds are not sufficiently nimble to elude it, unless, indeed, it attacks individuals exhausted by cold or other cause. It has been trained for hawking small birds; but owing, perhaps, to its migratory habits, it was found to be impatient of captivity, and was not much prized. Hobbies frequently hunt in pairs, and an instance has been recorded where one hunted a Lark in company with a Hen Harrier; but the latter, a bird of heavier flight, was soon compelled to give up the chase. It builds its nest, or appropriates a deserted one, in high trees, and lays three or four eggs.
THE MERLIN
FALCO ÆSALON
Tail longer than the wings; upper plumage greyish blue; lower reddish yellow, with longitudinal oblong dark brown spots; tail barred with black; beak bluish, darker at the tip; cere yellow; irides dark brown; feet yellow, claws black. Female—above tinged with brown; below, yellowish white. Length eleven to twelve inches; breadth two feet. Eggs mottled with two shades of dark reddish brown.
The Merlin, or Stone Falcon (so called from its habit of alighting on stones to watch the flight of the small birds which it intends to make its prey), is a beautiful little bird, but notwithstanding its small body ranks among the ‘noble’ Falcons. Associated with the Sparrow-Hawk, it was, on the Continent, anciently trained to hunt Quails—and the old falconers are loud in its praises. In England, it was accounted especially the Ladies’ Hawk. In a state of nature, it has been observed to attack the Partridge, Magpie, Starling, Blackbird, etc., but its favourite prey is the Lark; and it was to fly at this bird principally, that it was formerly trained. In hawking with Merlins, three of these birds were assigned to the Magpie, two to the Lark, and in the chase of the Quail and Land-rail, the Sparrow-Hawk was associated with it. The Merlin is more frequent in the northern than in the southern part of Great Britain, and is seen more frequently in winter than in summer, but is nowhere common. In Norfolk, many are caught at the autumnal equinox in the fowlers’ nets. It occasionally, perhaps generally, breeds in Northumberland, Cumberland, and North Wales, placing its nest upon the ground amongst the heather, and laying four or five eggs.
THE KESTREL
FALCO TINNÚNCULUS
Wings shorter than the tail; upper plumage, neck and breast, dark-lead grey; sides, under tail-coverts and thighs, light-yellowish red, with longitudinal narrow dark streaks; beak blue, lighter towards the base; cere and feet yellow; irides brown; claws black. Female—upper plumage and tail light red, with transverse spots and bars of dark brown; lower, paler than in the male. Length fifteen inches; breadth thirty inches. Eggs reddish white, blotched and mottled with dark red-brown.
The Kestrel being the most abundant and by far the most conspicuous in its habits of all the British birds of prey, is probably, in most instances, the bird which has been observed whenever the appearance of ‘a Hawk’ has been mentioned. Though rapid in flight whenever it chooses to put forth its full powers, it is more remarkable for the habit which has acquired for it the name of ‘Windhover’; and there can scarcely be any one, however unobservant, who makes even but an occasional expedition into the country, but has stopped and gazed with delight on its skilful evolutions. Suspended aloft, with its head turned towards the wind, but neither advancing against the breeze, nor moved by it from its position, it agitates its wings as regularly and evenly as if they were turned on a pivot by machinery. Presently, impelled as it were by a spirit of restlessness, it suddenly darts forwards, perhaps ascending or descending a few feet, and making a slight turn either to the right or the left. Then it skims on with extended, motionless pinions, and once more anchors itself to the air. But on what object is it intent all this while? for that some design is present here is indubitable. Not surely on the capture of birds, for at that slight elevation its keen eye would detect the movement of a bird at a mere glance; nor has it the dashing flight one would expect to see in a hunter after game furnished with the same organs of motion as itself. But, if intent on the capture of small animals which creep out of holes in the earth and hunt for their food among the grass, surely no method can be conceived of exploring the field so quickly and so completely. The Kestrel, then, though stigmatized by game keepers with an evil name, does not merit the reproaches heaped on it; while to the farmer it is an invaluable ally, destroying countless beetles, the grubs of which would gnaw away the roots of his crops;, caterpillars, which would devour the foliage; and, above all, mice, which would fatten on the grain. For such food its appetite is enormous, and its stomach capacious, an instance being recorded of a specimen having been shot, the craw of which contained no less than seventy-nine caterpillars, twenty-four beetles, a full-grown field mouse, and a leech. To this varied bill of fare it adds, as occasion offers, glow-worms, lizards, frogs, grasshoppers, and earthworms. In the winter, indeed, when these animals have withdrawn to their retreats, it is compelled by hunger to provide itself with what my readers would consider more palatable food; for now it preys on any birds which it is swift enough to overtake, and strong enough to master. The skill with which it plucks the feathers from birds before tearing them to pieces, certainly argues in favour of the theory that a bird-diet is not unnatural to it, or, that the habit, if an acquired one, came to an apt learner. But in autumn and winter, game-birds are fully fledged and being quite able to take care of themselves are by no means liable to fall a prey to the Kestrel. Thus, admitting, as we fear we must, that if, while hovering for mice, it detects a young Partridge in the hay-field, it is unable to withstand the temptation of carrying it off as a delicate repast for its young, yet an occasional trespass of this kind far from counterbalances the advantages it confers as a consistent destroyer of vermin.
The Kestrel appears to be generally distributed over the country, showing no marked predilection for upland or lowland, heath or marsh. It is very frequently seen near the sea-coast, to which in winter it habitually resorts, finding there, no doubt, greater facilities for obtaining food. Like others of its tribe, it possesses little architectural skill, placing its nest in a hole in a cliff, in ruins, or on lofty trees, often appropriating the deserted dwelling of some more industrious builder than itself. On the Continent it resorts to buildings in towns and cities, as, for instance, the Louvre in Paris, and the towers of cathedrals. During summer it hawks principally in the gardens and orchards near the town, and when harvest is gathered in, repairs to the corn-fields to hunt for mice among the stubble. When taken young from the nest, it is easily tamed, and becomes one of the most amusing of pets. Even after being fully fledged and allowed its liberty, it will remain in the neighbourhood of the place where it was reared, coming regularly to be fed, and recognizing the presence of its master by repeating its wild note, klee, klee, klee, and flying to meet him. An anecdote is recorded in the Zoologist of a male Kestrel having, in the second year of his domestication, induced a female bird to join him in his half-civilized life, and to assist him in rearing a joint family. ‘Billy’ still continued to make himself quite at home at the house where he was brought up, coming fearlessly into the nursery and making friends with the children; but his mate never threw off her wild nature so far as to do this, contenting herself with waiting outside, and asserting her right to her fair share of whatever food he brought out. Tame Kestrels have been observed to have the habit of hiding their food when supplied with more than they can consume at the time. I have often noticed, too, in the case of tame Kestrels, that the Chaffinches and other small birds which frequent gardens show no instinctive dread of them, as if they were their natural enemies, but perch on the same tree with them, fearless and unnoticed.
The Kestrel was formerly trained to hunt small birds, and in the court of Louis XIII was taught to hawk for Bats.
Notes
1 Vol. ii. p. 562.