82 WAKE-ROBIN 



him up, but never quite does it, — and so, between 

 disappointment and expectation, is soon disgusted, 

 and returns to pursue his more legitimate means of 

 subsistence. 



In striking contrast to this serio-comic strife of 

 the sparrow and the moth, is the pigeon hawk's 

 pursuit of the sparrow or the goldfinch. It is a 

 race of surprising speed and agility. It is a test of 

 wing and wind. Every muscle is taxed, and every 

 nerve strained. Such cries of terror and consterna- 

 tion on the part of the bird, tacking to the right 

 and left, and making the most desperate efforts to 

 escape, and such silent determination on the part of 

 the hawk, pressing the bird so closely, flashing and 

 turning, and timing his movements with those of 

 the pursued as accurately and as inexorably as if 

 the two constituted one body, excite feelings of the 

 deepest concern. You mount the fence or rush out 

 of your way to see the issue. The only salvation 

 for the bird is to adopt the tactics of the moth, 

 seeking instantly the cover of some tree, bush, or 

 hedge, where its smaller size enables it to move 

 about more rapidly. These pirates are aware of 

 this, and therefore prefer to take their prey by one 

 fell swoop. You may see one of them prowling 

 through an orchard, with the yellowbirds hovering 

 about him, crying, Pi-tijj pi-ti/j in the most de- 

 sponding tone; yet he seems not to regard them, 

 knowing, as do they, that in the close branches they 

 are as safe as if in a wall of adamant. 



August is the month of the high-sailing hawks. 



