AVERY BIRD COLLECTION 53 



'a peregrine falcon hovering above the timber, as a fish 

 hawk balances himself before he descends. I started a 

 black duck from under a log not ten feet from me; as I 

 proceeded other ducks left their hiding places and sought 

 safety in flight. They were aware of the danger over 

 head in the shape of the falcon, and all the frightful 

 screams of the cunning hawk had not caused them to 

 leave the water. My presence in their very midst had 

 alarmed them and so soon as they were on the wing the 

 falcon darted like lightning after them, and disappeared 

 through the timber with their pur'suer close behind them. 



"The capture of the killdeer by the falcon, in the 

 manner above described, was certainly astonishing. It 

 was evidently a ruse, as the bird did not see its enemy, 

 'till like an apparition, he shot up just ahead and the two 

 taloned feet were extended to received it. 



"The falcon resorts, also, to cunning when he seeks 

 to frighten the ducks from the water by screams louder 

 than I had supposed it possible for such a bird to make. 



"Sometimes the shooter is surprised by the presence 

 of the peregrine falcon as he falls, as it were, from the 

 very clouds. 



"Once, upon the coast of North Carolina, near Nay's 

 Head, I had shot several willets and was reloading my 

 muzzle, when a peregrine falcon stooped at a winged 

 willet that stood in the water not twenty yards from me. 

 The wounded bird escaped by squatting suddenly. The 

 upward flight of the falcon seemed to me not less rapid 

 than had been his descent. I had one barrel loaded, the 

 contents of which I sent after him without apparent ef- 

 fect, as he towered in a few seconds beyond the reach of 

 danger. 



"One among other occasions, when this marauder has 

 suddenly appeared on the scene, I shall never forget. I 

 had one day scattered a covey of partridges Coliyius vir- 

 giniamis in an open field, and had hunted the single birds 

 for some time with varied success ; now killing, now miss- 

 ing a bird. Finally my dog pointed in a sedge field, at 

 least a half a mile from the nearest woods. I flushed the 

 bird and missed it; almost simultaneously with the shot, a 



