320 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



Both birds ascend in spirals ; but the heron, with her liyht body and broad, concave 

 Wingfi, can risa in smaller rinc^s than the falcon. Tlie latter therefore describes a much 

 wider circle, and, traveliuL,' with treiuendi.as speed, an.l using her powerful wings at 

 every turn, gains raj)idly upon licr quarry. Thus the struggle is steadily carrying both 

 birds higher an.l higher, while the spectators, in order to keep the race in sight and be 

 'in at the death,' must gallop 'down-wiud' across country, until they see that the fal- 

 con has at last 'got the sky' of licr victim, and is about to 'stoop.' All eyes watch 

 eagerly now, and tiie height is often so great that the two birds seem hardly larger 

 than a coui)le of unequal-sized bees. For an instant the upper one seems to hang sus- 

 pended and motionless, then !<hoi>ts with incredible swiftness and unerring aim on the 

 doomed heron. The blow may be evaded at tirst, but this is rarely possible more than 

 a few times, for the long struggle for position has left little strength for any new 

 effort, and so the falcon strikes fair on Iier back, cither killing instantly by the mere 

 shock of collision, as is usually the case with a smallei- bird, or more slowly, but with 

 equal certainty, by the driving home of the long curved talons, while both birds come 

 whirling toward the earth, the falcon above, and striving with outspread wings to 

 break the force of the fall. 'J"he falconer now runs forward and slips the hood 

 over the falcon's head, after which she is led, usually with game freshly killed 

 for the purpose, which she is often allowed to eat while i)erchcd on the body of the 

 heron. 



Such a chase, while occupying but a few moments, is full of the most intense 

 interest, and we can hardly wonder at the zeal with which such sport has been fol- 

 lowed in days ])ast. There is much difference in falcons, even of the same s])ecies. Us 

 to their power of killing, some being very strong 'footers,' while others, with equal 

 power of wing, are unable to strike surely with the feet, and hence there may be a 

 rough-and-tumble fight on the ground, in which the long bill of the heron is an ugly 

 and effective weajxjn. The goshawk esj)ecially is slow in killing a large bird, and 

 hence should never be flown at herons. 



The full speed of the ])eregrine has been estimated at not less than one hundred and 

 fiftv miles an hour, and the gyrfalcoii is believed to much exceed this. Even the gos- 

 hawk, a much slower bird, easily overtakes the passenger jiigcon in full flight, so that 

 it is doubtless no uncommon thing for a falcon to take a dash of ten or a dozen miles 

 in as many minutes, in the j)ursuit of a single victim. 



The Euro]iean woodcock is another binl which rises to a great height to escape the 

 falcon, and, miequal as the race would seem to be, the woodcock is by no means 

 always the loser, and not unfrecjuently both birds rise completely out of sight before 

 the linish. Game which will thus 'lake the air' in order to csea]>e affords much 

 better sj)ort than any other kind, for the hawking of rabbits, or even hares, is tame 

 sport, only visible to few, and often with much exertion in riding over rough ground 

 and through thick woods ; and while ducks and other waterfowl are often hunted with 

 fair success by the jieregrine, or even the goshawk, yet it can only be done under 

 favorable conditions, as these birds usually escai)e bj' diving, if there be water enough 

 at hand. 



Probably the most diflicult game ever successfully attempted w.as the kite, to the caj)- 

 ture of which very few even of the strongest and best-trained falcons were equal; so 

 that practically this sport was limited to the favored few who coidd afford to possess 

 the swiftest birds. Thus, hunted mainly by royalty, the kite became known as royal 

 game, and doubtless J/ilvtis rcijalis gets its specific designation from this source. 



