Northern Observations of Inland Birds 99 



different from the *' gentle dove " in character. At one 

 time all birds were classed as *' doves," and one wonders 

 whether, after all, it may have been a peregrine that 

 journeyed from the ark and returned with its token of 

 glad tidings ! At all events, Noah must have known the 

 birds too well to dispatch a comparatively feeble turtle 

 dove, as usually shown in pictures, when he had so wide 

 a range of choice. 



In the old days of falconry, tame hawks were seldom 

 flown at curlews, as this bird's marvellous climbing powers 

 usually resulted in losing the hawk, both birds disappearing 

 from view in the uppermost heavens. The falcon that 

 succeeded in striking down a curlew thereby made its 

 name and its fame, enormously enhancing its own value. 

 It was a generally accepted fact, however, that the best 

 of falcons bred in captivity was never equal to a wild 

 one, and I know for a fact that wild falcons regularly 

 strike down curlews within the ordinary course of travel. 

 It is another curious fact that a tame falcon would readily 

 attack a wild one, and generally strike it down almost 

 immediately, but this was doubtless due to the fact that 

 the wild bird did not realize the other's savage intentions, 

 and therefore made no effort to retaliate or to get away. 



To settle a wager a tame falcon belonging to a Colonel 

 Fisher was flown at a curlew during a hawking expedition 

 in Argyllshire, west of Loch Awe, and after a flight of 

 twenty minutes or so both disappeared from view in the 

 cloudless sky. Two days later the peregrine was shot 

 in the north of Ireland. 



Anent the well-known devotion of peregrines for their 

 young, one or two striking instances have come my way. 

 A Perthshire keeper with whom I was well acquainted 

 was some years ago seriously troubled by a pair of these 

 birds, which did so much damage that eventually he 

 decided to destroy them. As he cautiously approached 



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