320 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



Both birds ascend in spirals ; but the heron, with her light body and broad, concave 

 wings, can rise in smaller rings than the falcon. The latter therefore describes a much 

 wider circle, and, traveling with tremendous speed, and using her powerful wings at 

 every turn, gains rapidly upon her quarry. Thus the struggle is steadily carrying both 

 birds higher and higher, while the spectators, in order to keep the race in sight and be 

 'in at the death,' must gallop ' down-wind ' across country, until they see that the fal- 

 con has at last ' got the sky ' of her victim, and is about to ' stoop.' All eyes watch 

 eagerly now, and the height is often so great that the two birds seem hardly larger 

 than a couple of unequal-sized bees. For an instant the upper one seems to hang sus- 

 pended and motionless, then shoots with incredible swiftness and unerring aim on the 

 doomed heron. The blow may be evaded at first, but this is rarely possible more than 

 a few times, for the long struggle for position has left little strength for any new 

 effort, and so the falcon strikes fair on her back, either killing instantly by the mere 

 shock of collision, as is usually the case with a smaller bird, or more slowly, but with 

 equal certainty, by the driving home of the long curved talons, while both birds come 

 whirling toward the earth, the falcon above, and striving with outspread wings to 

 break the force of the fall. The falconer now runs forward and slips the hood 

 over the falcon's head, after which she is fed, usually with game freshly killed 

 for the purpose, which she is often allowed to eat while perched on the body of the 

 heron. 



Such a chase, while occupying but a few moments, is full of the most intense 

 interest, and we can hardly wonder at the zeal with which such sport has been fol- 

 lowed in days past. There is much difference in falcons, even of the same species, as 

 to their power of killing, some being very strong 'footers,' while others, with equal 

 power of wing, are unable to strike surely with the feet, and hence there may be a 

 rough-and-tumble fight on the ground, in which the long bill of the heron is an ugly 

 and effective weapon. The goshawk especially is slow in killing a large bird, and 

 hence should never be flown at herons. 



The full speed of the peregrine has been estimated at not less than one hundred and 

 fifty miles an hour, and the gyrfalcon is believed to much exceed this. Even the gos- 

 hawk, a much slower bird, easily overtakes the passenger pigeon in full flight, so that 

 it is doubtless no uncommon thing for a falcon to take a dash of ten or a dozen miles 

 in as many minutes, in the pursuit of a single victim. 



The European woodcock is another bird which rises to a great height to escape the 

 falcon, and, unequal as the race would seem to be, the woodcock is by no means 

 always the loser, and not unfrequently both birds rise completely out of sight before 

 the finish. Game which will thus 'take the air' in order to escape affords much 

 better sport than any other kind, for the hawking of rabbits, or even hares, is tame 

 sport, only visible to few, and often with much exertion in riding over rough ground 

 and through thick woods ; and while ducks and other waterfowl are often hunted with 

 fair success by the peregrine, or even the goshawk, yet it can only be done under 

 favorable conditions, as these birds usually escape by diving, if there be water enough 

 at hand. 



Probably the most difficult game ever successfully attempted was the kite, to the cap- 

 ture of which very few even of the strongest and best-trained falcons were equal ; so 

 that practically this sport was limited to the favored few who could afford to possess 

 the swiftest birds. Thus, hunted mainly by royalty, the kite became known as royal 

 game, and doubtless Milvus reyalis gets its specific designation from this source. 



