THE KITE-GENTIL FALCON.

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the spot; but the Bird could not be found, nor did it return till seven days afterwards. I had been used to call him every evening with a whistle: this he did not answer for six days; but on the seventh I heard a feeble cry at a distance, which I judged to be that of my Buzzard: I repeated the whistle a second time, and heard the same cry. I went to the place from which the sound came; and, at last, found my poor Buzzard with his wing broken. He had travelled more than half league on foot to regain his asylum, from which he was then distant about a hundred and twenty paces. Though he was extremely reduced, he gave me many caresses. It was six weeks before he was recruited, and his wounds were healed; after which he began to fly as before, and to follow his old habits: these he continued for about a year, and then disappeared for ever."

THE KITE, GLEDE, OR GLED.

The Kite, Glede, or Gled, is not uncommon in England, and is spread over Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. It is especially hated by the farmer for its depredations on his poultry, and its appearance is the signal for a general outcry among the terrified poultry, who perceive it long before the keenest-eyed man can distinguish it from a casual spot in the distant sky. The sportsman also detests it for the havoc which it makes among the game,possibly the Kite hates the sportsman for the same reason.

KITE.

It builds in tall trees, and lays three eggs, white, spotted with reddish brown at the larger end. Its length is rather more than two feet; the fourth primary feather is the longest, the first and seventh nearly equal.

THE GENTIL FALCON.

The Gentil Falcon measures about two feet in length. Its beak is of a red color, with a yellow cere. The head and back part of the neck are rusty, with oblong black spots. The back and wings are brown, and each feather of the wings is tipped with rust-color. The quills are dusky; the outer webs barred with black, and the lower parts of the inner webs are marked with white. The wings reach to the middle of the tail, which is banded with black and ash-color, and tipped with white. The legs are short and yellow, and the claws black.

When, in ancient times, the sport of falconry was in high repute, this was one of the species of Falcons which was employed. It is a spirited and dauntless bird; and in a wild state is a native of the rocks of Caernarvonshire, and the Highlands of Scotland.

In Syria there is a small variety of the Gentil Falcon, which the in

habitants denominate Shaheen; and which is of so fierce and courageous a disposition, that it will attack any Bird, however large or powerful, which presents itself. "Were there not (says Dr. Russel, in his account of Aleppo) several gentlemen now in England, to bear witness to the fact, I should hardly venture to assert that, with this bird, which is about the size of a Pigeon, the inhabitants sometimes take large Eagles. This Hawk, in former times, was taught to seize the Eagle under the pinion, and thus depriving him of the use of one wing, both birds fell to the ground together; but I am informed that the present mode is to teach the Hawk to fix on the back, between the wings, which has the same effect, only that, the bird tumbling down more slowly, the falconer has more time to come to his Hawk's assistance; but in either case, if he be not very expeditious, the Falcon is inevitably destroyed.

"I never saw the Shaheen fly at Eagles, that sport having been disused before my time; but I have often seen him take Herons and Storks. The Hawk, when thrown off, flies for some time in a horizontal line, not six feet from the ground, then mounting perpendicularly, with astonishing swiftness, he seizes his prey under the wing, and both together come tumbling to the ground. If the falconer, however, be not expeditious, the game soon disengages itself and escapes.'

THE GOSHAWK.

The Goshawk is found plentifully in most of the wooded districts of Europe, but is comparatively rare in the British Isles. It seldom breeds south of Scotland, but its nest is not unfrequently found in that country, built upon lofty trees, principally firs, and containing three eggs of a bluish white color with reddish brown marks. When in pursuit of prey, it strikes its victim to the ground by the force with which it dashes through the air. Should the terrified quarry hide itself, the Goshawk takes up its station on some elevated spot, and there patiently waits until the game takes wing. Its principal food consists of Hares, Squirrels, Pheasants, and other large Birds, which its great strength enables it to destroy. Its length is about two feet; the fourth primary feather is the longest.

THE HEN HARRIER.

The Hen Harrier is about seventeen inches long, and three feet wide. Its bill is black, and cere yellow. The upper parts of its body are of a bluish gray: and the back of the head, the breast, belly, and thighs are white; the two former marked with dusky streaks. The two middle feathers of the tail are gray, and the outer webs of the others are of the same color; but the inner ones are marked with alternate bars of white and rust-color. The legs are long, slender, and yellow; and the claws black.

THE HEN HARRIER.

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It is about forests, heaths, and other retired places, especially in the neighborhood of marshy grounds, where they destroy vast numbers of Snipes, that these birds are usually seen. They sail with great regularity all over a piece of marsh, till they discover their prey, when they immediately pounce upon and seize it.

A gentleman who was shooting in Hampshire, by chance sprung a Pheasant in a wheat-stubble, and shot at it: notwithstanding the report of the gun, it was pursued by a Hen Harrier, but escaped into a covert. He then sprung a second, and a third, in the same field, and these likewise got away; the Hawk hovering round him all the while he was beating the field, conscious, no doubt, of the game that lurked in the stubble. Hence we may conclude, that this bird of prey was rendered daring and bold by hunger, and that Hawks are not always in a condition to strike their game. We may further observe, that they cannot pounce on their quarry when it is on the ground, where it might be able to make a stout resistance; since so large a fowl as a Pheasant could not but be visible to the piercing eye of a Hawk, when hovering over it. Hence that propensity in game to cowering and squatting till they are almost trodden on; which, doubtless, was intended by Providence, as a mode of security, though it has long been rendered destructive by the invention of nets and guns.

HEN HARRIER.

A Hen Harrier that was shot some years ago near London, was first observed dodging round the lower parts of some old trees, and then seeming to strike against the trunks of them with its beak or talons, but still continuing on wing. The cause of this singular conduct could not even be conjectured, till after it was killed; when on opening its stomach, nearly twenty small brown Lizards were found there, which it had artfully seized, by coming suddenly upon them. They were each bitten or torn into two or three pieces.

These destructive birds may be caught by means of a trap, baited with a stuffed Rabbit's skin, and covered nicely over with moss. They breed annually on the Cheviot-hills; and from a Hen Harrier and Ring Tail (Falco pygargus) having been shot on the same nest, it appears that these are not two distinct species, however different they may be in appearance, but that they are in reality the male and female of the same.

The nest of the Hen Harrier is usually formed near the ground, amongst furze or in thickets. It is constructed of sticks rudely put together, and is nearly flat. The eggs are about four in number, without spots, and of a dirty white color.

THE SPARROW-HAWK.

The male Sparrow-nawk is about twelve, and the female, fifteen. inches in length. The exterior feathers of the upper parts of the latter are brown, with dusky edges; and on the back of the head there are some whitish spots. The under parts are yellowish white, waved with light brown. The chin is streaked with perpendicular lines of brown. The tail is barred with dark brown, and is white at the end. The legs are yellow, and the claws black. The male is somewhat different. The upper part of its breast is of a dark lead-color; the bars on this part are more numerous, and the under parts are altogether darker. In both sexes the bill is blue, and the cere yellow.

SPARROW HAWK.

The Sparrow-hawk is a bold bird. It is the dread of the farm-yard, for, at times, it makes great havoc among young poultry; and it commits its depradations in the most daring manner, even in the presence of mankind. In win ter it often makes havoc among the flocks of Buntings and Finches.

Few of the rapacious birds are so docile and obedient as this. When properly trained it is capable of great attachment; and it is so far susceptible of education, that it may be taught to pursue Partridges and other game. It will also pounce upon Pigeons when separated from their companions.

The editor of a respectable publication, entitled the Beauties of Natural History, states, that when he was a boy he had a Sparrowhawk that used to accompany him through the fields, catch its game, devour it at leisure, and, after all, find him out wherever he went; nor, after the first or second adventure of this kind, was he ever afraid of losing the bird. A peasant, however, to his great mortification, one day shot it for having made too free with some of his poultry. It was about as large as a Wood-pigeon; and this gentleman says he has seen it fly at a Turkey-cock; and, when beaten, return to the charge with undaunted intrepidity: he had also known it to kill a fowl five or six times as big as itself.

The female builds her nest in hollow trees, on high rocks or lofty ruins; sometimes, however, she is contented with the old nest of a Crow. She generally lays four or five eggs.

THE SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK-GYR-FALCON

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THE SWALLOW-TAILED HAWK.

This beautiful Kite breeds and passes the summer in the warmer

parts of the United

States, and is also

probably resident

in all tropical and

temperate

Amer

ica, migrating into

well as the northern hemisphere. In the former, according Viellot, it is found in Peru, and as far as Buenos Ayres; and though it is extremely rare to meet with this species as far as the latitude of forty degrees in the Atlantic states; yet tempted by the abundance of the fruitful valley of

the Mississippi, individuals have been seen along that river as far as the Falls of St Anthony, in the forty-forth degree of north latitude. Indeed, according to Fleming, two stragglers have even found their devious way to the strange climate of Great Britain.

THE GYR-FALCON.

The Gyr-falcon may be considered the type of the British Falconidæ. It is, however, extremely rare in England, those intended for hawking being principally brought from Iceland. On the rocky coasts of Norway and Iceland its eggs are laid. These birds are very courageous in defending their young. A pair of them attacked Dr. Richardson while he was climbing near their nest, flying in circles round him, and occasionally dashing at his face with loud screams. The entire length of the Gyr-falcon is twenty-three inches.