HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



63 



syncrasies, and find how closely does he resemble 

 his raptorial brethren in his leading characteristics. 

 I obtained my pet in June last, and discovered her 

 sitting disconsolately with her brothers and sisters 

 in an old cage. She was not more than half-fledged, 

 but the clown in which she was encased made up for 

 her want of clothing. In less than a month her 

 plumage became superb, and has continued so ever 

 since, with the exception of the tail, which, being too 

 long for walking purposes, dragged on the ground 

 in a sad state of dirt, and ultimately had to be docked 

 for appearance-sake. During the summer and au- 

 tumn she resided in the garden, and with her wing 

 cut, was allowed her liberty, while any of the family 

 was at hand to keep watch over her. Being very 

 tame, I had abundant opportunities of studying her 

 peculiarities, and I have seldom had a more enter- 

 taining or versatile companion. Her diet consists 

 of ordinary " cat's meat," relieved by raw meat, 

 mice, birds, and insects. Mice are undoubtedly her 

 favourite food, and would disappear with marvellous 

 celerity, without the slightest vestige being left. 

 Small birds she rather likes, but evidently it is too 

 much trouble to pick them properly, as they are 

 generally only half-deplumed; but the first operation 

 was always to pick out and devour their eyes. In the 

 summer she bathed regularly once a day, and spent 

 the morning preening and dressing her feathers. 

 Insects of all sizes and kinds were summarily de- 

 voured, and I have more than once captured wing- 

 less females and imperfectly-formed moths unable 

 to fly, by finding her dancing round them in their 

 endeavours to escape, and with a gentle nibble 

 giving them a hint to run faster; and when the 

 poor insect was too maimed or exhausted to crawl 

 farther, the sport being ended, they were eaten 

 without further delay. Indeed, she appears quite 

 indignant with spiders, because, instead of hurrying 

 off, they lie down and curl themselves up. It is 

 curious to observe how important a part the talons 

 play in the economy of this bird. Everything is 

 taken up and examined, and, if possible, carried 

 off. The bill is used only for tearing her food ; 

 and with the notch in the upper mandible which is 

 characteristic of the true Falcons, she can, with a 

 scissor-like action, cut through very hard sub- 

 stances. The peculiar position of the legs, which 

 are placed very forward in all the raptores, is very 

 noticeable, evidently giving the bird a greater 

 amount of leverage to assist her in tearing her 

 meat, which she holds in her talons and pulls in 

 pieces by main force. But the talons are used, to 

 my surprise, almost as much as a parrot's. Even 

 in the garden, where there is nothing edible, she 

 amuses herself with pouncing on a stone or piece 

 of brick, and hobbling off with it, considering it 

 as a sort of prey ; for if it be taken from her, a 

 terrible noise ensues. Her chief weakness is her 

 temper, which, when ruffled, is none of the sweet- 



est ; and as fear does not enter into her com- 

 position, it takes no little trouble to overcome her. 

 Screaming at the top of a very shrill voice, she 

 charges at my hands, clawing and scratching like a 

 game-cock, and, as may be imagined, inflicting most 

 unpleasant scars. Indeed, it is only until she has 

 been upset, rolled over, and buffeted for some little 

 while, that she thinks discretion the better part of 

 valour, and runs away. Her great antipathy is a 

 cat ; and strange pussies which have endeavoured 

 to secure her as a prize, by stalking up quietly for 

 the purpose, are met with a very warm reception, 

 and generally turn tail and run off in astonishment. 

 My own cat can hardly eat anything in her sight 

 without having to flee to avoid bites and scratches; 

 but by degrees they are becoming more amicable. 



During the last summer weather she would lie 

 down in the grass, and, spreading her wings, bask in 

 the fervent rays of the sun, and in cold weather her 

 weakness is to sit on the kitchen fender and enjoy 

 the warmth in the same manner. I was very much en- 

 tertained at some sparrows which flocked round her 

 while engaged in sunning herself. Neither of them 

 cared for the other, till the sparrows came so close as 

 to annoy her ; so she got up and ran after them to 

 drive them off ; but, to my surprise, they paid not the 

 slightest notice, but hopped away as unconcernedly 

 as possible, taking care to keep just out of her reach. 

 I can only account for such behaviour by their 

 being London sparrows. 



She seems to coincide entirely with the description 

 given by different authors, except that while Wood, 

 Macgillivray, Mudie, and others describe the iris as 

 yellow, in her it is a dark brown, so dark as to 

 appear black unless seen in a strong light. The bill 

 is of a light grey at the base, growing darker at the 

 tip, and grows fast, as she fractured it at the tip 

 some time ago ; but now it has resumed its usual 

 appearance, without a trace of the accident. It is 

 considerably larger than in the wild specimens I 

 have seen, probably because in captivity there is not 

 so much occasion for its use or so much opportunity 

 of keeping it down. 



In conclusion I would recommend those who have 

 a weakness for taming birds to try a kestrel, as I 

 feel confident they will find it a most entertaining 

 and pleasant pet. A. 6. H. 



" Birds and Flowers," by Mary Howitt, illus- 

 trated by Giacomelli, is a beautiful gift-book, pub- 

 lished by Nelson & Sons. The poetry is much of 

 it familiar as household words ; but the exquisite 

 little woodcuts and the style of getting up far 

 surpass the previous edition. It is just the book 

 for a true lover of nature as well as of art. It 

 contains treasures for young or old, suitable for all 

 times and seasons ; and we commend it to our 

 readers as just the book that will please them. 



