The Oologists' Record, September i, igzz. 6i 



It is probably the most homely bird out here, is \'ery tame, likes 

 to breed near houses or in the thatch, and has a very pleasing and 

 sweet song, so it is quite an asset to the homestead. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE HOBBY, [FALCO S. SUBBUTEO). 



By NORMAX GiLROY. 



It has frequently been suggested by competent authorities that 

 the Hobby as a nesting species in Great Britain is no doubt often 

 overlooked. M\^ own experience, extending o\'er a considerable 

 period, rather tends to disprove this than otherwise. No doubt the 

 areas in which it is to be found have become more widely known 

 in recent years, owing to the rapidly increasing numbers of those 

 whose interest in wild life leads them farther afield than formerly ; 

 so that, to the casual observer, the Hobby would perhaps appear to 

 be a commoner species than he had imagined. 



But to one who has had close communion with the birds from 

 summer to summer there is no such illusion. 



In my opinion the Hobby is a species which has long affected 

 certain areas, and from such^ as is the case not only with most 

 migratory birds, but with other Hawks, it is extremely difficult to 

 dislodge entirely. It may disappear unaccountably for many 

 seasons, only to reappear unexpectedly and mysteriously after 

 perhaps a lapse of years. It is a well-known fact that certain ledges 

 in the sea-cliffs have a nameless attraction for the Peregrine Falcon, 

 certain spots on the hillside for the Merhn, and it is the same with 

 the Hobby. 



I have known a Crow's nest to be tenanted by a pair year by year 

 until only the shell remained, when a move was made to a more 

 substantial nest in a tree a few yards off. 



The breeding range of the Hobby does not appear to extend, 

 although the number of breeding pairs may increase in an estab- 

 lished area, as was undoubtedly the case during the years of the 

 war. From some districts, of course, the birds may be compulsorily 

 driven — by the felling of trees, by the extinction of the Carrion 

 Crow which provides in my estimation fully 98 per cent, of the 

 necessary nesting accommodation, or by tlie wanton and useless 

 destruction year after year of the birds themselves and their broods. 



Generally speaking, the areas outHned by Saunders in his Manual 



