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expanded wings, she appeared in the sky, like a pin’s head, 
over the moor, the dogs being unable for some time to find her 
a grouse. Presently they stood, and on the men moving 
forward to put them up for her, I perceived her in the act of 
stooping. I called out, to prevent their purpose, and fixed my 
glasses on the hawk expecting to see her in pursuit of other 
grouse, raised accidentally. Presently she was down, and 
instantly engaged with some large bird, which I deemed, and 
the men asserted to be a carrion crow. As it looked large and 
light-coloured, I said, “‘ then it is a hoody (Royston) crow ;” but 
in a moment, as the excited couple rose high in air—at it ding 
dong—I knew it was no crow. No; none of that ignoble 
brood, ever flew, or held the air, like this strange quarry, which, 
in a few seconds more, I made out to be “ Nwmenius arquata,” 
the common or long-billed curlew. I know no instance of this 
grand flier, having been taken by a trained hawk, and it is 
generally deemed beyond the power of any such. Of course it 
is occasionally slain by a wild falcon; but then, doubtless, the 
worst wild falcon is far before the best trained one, and if 
inclined and meaning it, can take most fowls that wing the 
air with more or less ease. My poor trained bird (I should add, 
the best I have ever had of her sex) was in very indifferent 
plumage then, but she stuck to her work for more than twenty 
minutes, during the whole of which time the curlew (in 
desperate earnest) was quite unable to get away from her. 
Stoop succeeded stoop, and, as I thought, too rapidly; and 
when it is considered that the sole effort of the curlew was to 
avoid the deadly blow, and mount higher than her adversary 
after its failure, and that every failure placed the stooping falcon 
60 yards and more below the curlew, rapidly mounting on the 
best of wings, and that she had to regain her position, and get 
100 yards above her hoped-for quarry, before she could again 
return to the attack, the courage, ability, and perseverance 
with which she kept at it, until both were out of sight of 
two of the best pair of eyes I have known, fairly astonished 
me. My excellent field glasses still shewed me two little 
black dots in the clear blue sky: the falcon even then repeating 
