336 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



individually. The bill is blue, the cere, eye-rims and legs 

 yellow, the irides dark brown. The female, a larger bird, is 

 darker and the bars are heavier. In immature dress, the 

 plumage of most " passage-hawks '" as the migrants are called, 

 the upper parts are greyish brown with buff margins to the 

 feathers, and the yellowish under parts are streaked and not 

 barred. The cere and legs are livid blue-grey, as are the soft 

 parts in the nestlings. Male : Length, 15 ins. Wing. 12-5 ins. 

 Tarsus, 2 ins. Female : Length, 18 ins. Wing, 14 ins. 

 Tarsus, 2*3 ins. 



Hobby. Fa! CO suhhiteo Linn. 



The Hobby (Plate 150) breeds in north and central Europe 

 and western Asia, and winters far south in Africa and Asia. 

 Closely allied forms are found in Africa, and Asia. Spring 

 immigrants arrive in England early in May, and in southern 

 counties the bird nests regularly, though it cannot be called 

 abundant. Further north it is less frequent, and in Yorkshire 

 and Cheshire only nests occasionally. It has bred at least 

 once in Scotland, but there, as in Ireland, is a straggler on 

 migration. 



Most writers follow Seebohm in saying that the Hobby is a 

 miniature Peregrine, but except in the well-marked moustachial 

 stripe it has little in common either in plumage or habits. It 

 is distinctly the falcon of the woodlands, spending much of the 

 day perched in a tree, but hunting with remarkable activity in 

 the early morning, late afternoon and evening until dusk. 

 When perched, and it is not a very difficult bird to approach, 

 its long red shank feathers are very characteristic. It has 

 proportionately long, narrow wings and a shortish tail, and 

 though it will hover for a moment over a bush, its swift gliding 

 flight is quite distinct from that of the Kestrel ; the bird with 

 which it is most likely to be confused is the Merlin, from which 



