74 HILL BIRDS OF SCOTLAND 



not yet able to lly ! . . . To many who watch the 

 Kestrel as he hovers above a hillside, stooping to earth 

 every few minutes and rising, apparently with empty 

 talons., it is surmised that such " stoops " have been un- 

 successful. In reality the Kestrel has been preying on 

 beetles, and though the rush to earth may have been re- 

 warded by the capture of one of these insects, there is no 

 visible sign, for the Windhover has devoured his small 

 prey as quickly as caught. When hunting, the Kestrel 

 is rarely more than fifty feet above the moor. If it has 

 suspicions that a suitable prey is somewhere on the ground 

 near it drops a little, then hovers a little, drops again a few 

 yards, scanning the ground intently, then either dashes 

 down at top speed — its suspicions confirmed — or else rises 

 in disgust and flies off to search another part of the hill. 



When hovering, a Kestrel faces the wind, spreads its tail 

 wide, and with the extremities of its wings rapidly vibrat- 

 ing, remains motionless, keenly surveying the ground 

 beneath. On sighting its prey it closes its wings and tail, 

 dropping like a stone till just above the surface of the 

 ground. 



The Kestrel is said to feed on lizards, and is not above 

 bearing off the young of Grouse, Partridges, and Pheasants, 

 but still cannot be said to be a murderer and a tyrant 

 like the Sparrow Hawk. Mice are sometimes swallowed 

 entire. Several instances of a Kestrel " catching a 

 Tartar " are recorded. Once a bird, after its stoop to earth, 

 was seen to rise hurriedly into the air and to drop down 

 lifeless. Immediately a weasel ran off apparently un- 

 injured, and on being examined the Kestrel was found 

 to have been bitten in the neck to the death by the four- 

 footed marauder. ... A Kestrel is rarely seen on the 

 ground, and still more rarely is seen walking, for it is 

 extremely necessary to it that its claws should be sharp 

 in order to grip and hold its prey. 



