54} ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES. 



by her writhing and squeaking burden, cleared 

 the hedge, fluttered across a field, and alighted on 

 a mound of earth at the farther side. By making 

 a slight detour, and masking my advance with 

 an intervening oak tree, I contrived to approach 

 within thirty yards, and could perceive that she 

 was endeavouring to destroy the life of her victim 

 by severing with her beak the spine about the 

 middle of the back. Once, as if to try how far 

 her exertions in this respect had been attended 

 with success, she relaxed her hold of the rat, and 

 hovered over it in the air for a few seconds, while 

 the latter, whose vocal powers were now quite 

 extinguished, and all its hinder parts paralyzed, 

 attempted to crawl, with the assistance of its fore 

 legs, down the sloping side of the hillock, when 

 the kestrel, as if satisfied that it could give her 

 but little more trouble, or perhaps ashamed of 

 prolonging a cruel experiment, more worthy of a 

 cat than a falcon, again seized it with both feet, 

 and resuming her position on the summit of the 

 mound, began to devour it, commencing at the 

 head or back of the neck. Having suddenly 

 made my appearance at this moment, she flew off, 

 carrying the now dead and mutilated rat in one 

 foot with comparative ease; and as I looked after 

 her, I could see her continuing her flight across a 

 wide meadow, until she topped a low hedge at the 



