Northern Observations of Inland Birds 147 



bird of prey turned, and pursuer became pursued. 

 Instantly the snipe began to mount, and almost before I 

 had time to realize what was happening the second merlin 

 appeared from nowhere in particular and dashed into 

 the fray. The snipe narrowly dodged between them, and 

 it was then that I beheld a very heroic thing, for the 

 hard-pressed snipe was joined by its mate, who voluntarily 

 came to the assistance, possibly rising from the nest. 



Then the stunt flying began in real earnest, the 

 merlins adopting peregrine tactics, and swooping re- 

 peatedly, though repeatedly one of them was to be seen 

 following hotly just behind a snipe. They would appear 

 to shoot apart, then the hawk would strike. The noise 

 of beating pinions was almost unbelievable, and again 

 and again I saw one of the hawks completely loop the 

 loop, but as no aeronaut normally does it, for descending 

 head foremost he would miss his quarry by the fraction 

 of an inch, thereafter beginning the loop with his blue 

 back towards earth ; then mounting vertically with a 

 terrific burr of wings he would strike again, quick as a 

 rattlesnake fighting fire. It seemed indeed, that both 

 snipe and falcons were as often upside down in the air 

 as they were right side up, and it was marvellous to observe 

 how both the pursuing couple and the pursued backed 

 each other up and assisted, always in the right place. I 

 had often wondered how the Httle merhn manages to 

 overhaul so swift a bird as the snipe, just as I used once 

 to wonder how the short-legged stoat ever succeeds in 

 outdistancing the hare, but having in both cases witnessed 

 the chase, I now no longer wonder. On the contrary, 

 it is a matter of surprise that any bird ever succeeds in 

 escaping this persistent little freebooter when the issue is 

 to be decided in the air, for the tactics of the merlin are 

 so bewildering and rapid that speed alone cannot save 

 the fugitive. 



K 2 



