BY H. K. BENNETT, ESQ. 163 



own impetus in the opposite ; it is very I'arely indeed that the 

 falcon makes a second attempt after his failure, but I have 

 occasionally seen one do so again and again, with no better success, 

 until at last the pursuit is given up in disgust. On one occasion 

 a lark. Anthus australis, defied the united efforts of no less than 

 three falcons, and for a considerable time, the lark simply avoiding 

 by a quick turn each falcon's stroke, but finally it fell a victim, 

 completely tired out. One peculiarity of this bird, not shared 

 by any others of the family, that I am aware of, is its habit 

 when watching for prey of frequently ascending to such a great 

 height as to be invisible, which shows the wonderful power of 

 vision possessed by this bird. Many and many a time when on 

 the plains, miles from any timber, with a flock of sheep, 

 " camped," I have carefully scanned the sky overhead and around 

 to see if a falcon was visible, but not a speck has met my 

 gaze in any direction. On starting to drive the sheep and almost 

 immediately have they disturbed a quail, a rushing sound would 

 be heard overhead, and on looking up a dark object would be seen 

 descending with fearful rapidity, and so compressed or gathered 

 together, as to render any one unacqiiainted with this bird unable 

 to say what the object was ; when some thirty or forty feet from 

 the ground the descent is arrested, and by a sudden movement and 

 expansion of wings the falcon assumes a horizontal attitude and 

 the chase commences, which as a rule, results in the speedy 

 capture, and the falcon by a series of graceful curves again 

 mounts into the air, devouring its prey as it ascends, an occasional 

 tuft of blood stained feathers slowly wafted earthwards, evidencing 

 its success ; the above operation being repeated when the next 

 quail, or some young bird is flushed. Sometimes however, 

 the falcon is baulked by the quarry suddenly dropping into some 

 sheltering salt bush (rarely more than a foot or eighteen inches 

 high), when this is the case the falcon quickly ai-rests its flight, 

 and closing its wings by a powerful movement shoots perpen- 

 dicularly into the air for some distance, and then expanding its 

 wings hovers for a short time over the bush in which its pi'ey has 

 taken refuge. Should it be a scanty one and the unfortunate bird 



