468 



FALCO TINNUNCULUS. THE KESTREL. P. 193. 



Having- lately had an opportunity of watching the 

 flig-ht of a kestrel over a large space of open ground, I 

 am enabled to describe it more minutely. The bird 

 was flying against the vrind at a smart rate when I first 

 observed it. It proceeded over an irrigated meadow, 

 about an hundred yards, at the height of about thirty, 

 moving its wings quickly, its head retracted, its tail 

 slightly spread and horizontal. It then sailed or glid- 

 ed a few yards, ascended some feet, and stopped short, 

 supporting itself by rapid motions of its wings, and ex- 

 panding its tail. In a few seconds it flew forwards, 

 flapping its wings, shot off" to a side and sailed, then 

 again rose a little, and fixed itself in the air ; but find- 

 ing nothing among the grass beneath, it proceeded a 

 short way and again hovered. In a short time it 

 wheeled round, flew right down the wind, which was 

 rather strong, at a rapid rate, for about two hundred 

 yards, brought up and hovered. In this manner, in 

 about ten minutes, and along a space of half a mile, it 

 stopped and hovered, at a height varying from thirty 

 to fifty feet, about twelve times, when it bore away to 

 continue its search, without having caught any thing. 

 When about to hover, it always rose in a gentle curve 

 a few feet, faced the wind, spread its tail, moved its 

 wings rapidly, and fixed itself for observation ; but only 

 on one occasion, for a few seconds, it remained appa- 

 rently motionless, the action of the wings being very 

 distinct during the hovering, and the range of their 

 tips apparently about eight or ten inches. 



