FOR CAGES AND AVIARIES. 107 



was no practical difference between them, whether in the 

 adult or immature state. 



Morris thought that the name Goshawk, variously rendered 

 Goss-hawk, or Gose-hawk, was a corruption of Goose-hawk, 

 so named from the robust shape and size of the bird. 



The Harriers. See ufider Harriers. 



The Hobby. 



This bird is described as "a spirited and daring Hawk" 

 by Morris, but in confinement, at any rate, is very quiet 

 and inoffensive, permitting itself to be bullied to any extent 

 by an impudent Magpie and even by a Jay, but possibly 

 in that case the bird's spirit may have been broken and it 

 may have acquired a timidity that is foreign to its nature. 



As a British species the Hobby is pretty well extinct, 

 which is to be regretted, for it is not only a handsome 

 but an eminently useful bird, as it feeds largely on the 

 large beetles and moths, the larvae of which are so 

 destructive to growing timber. It also preys on small 

 birds and quadrupeds, and on frogs and other reptiles. 



The Hobby is a wood-loving species, and makes its 

 nest of sticks among the topmost boughs of tall trees, 

 very often selecting the abandoned abode of some other 

 bird, or, failing that, driving away the rightful owners. 

 The eggs, usually deposited in June, vary from two to 

 four in number; they are white, sometimes with a blue 

 tinge, and are spotted with yellowish-brown. 



The Hobby has a general air of resemblance to the 

 Peregrine, but its breast is streaked instead of being barred ; 

 it is also of more slender build and has larger wings. 

 A white curved streak surmounts the eye, below which is a 

 black mark, divided at its lower end into a fork. The legs 

 and feet are very dusky yellow, and the iris is about the 

 same colour, the under surface of the wings being light grey. 



It is very easily domesticated, and will live on the offal 

 procurable from a poulterer, with an occasional change in the 

 shape of a mouse or a Sparrow. Mealworms, too, are favourite 

 morsels, nor will it even disdain the humble blackbeetle, 



