76 
HOBBY. 
Falco subbuteo, PENNANT. Berwick. SELBy, 
Falco—To cut with a bill or hook. Subbuteo, a diminutive of 
Buteo—A Buzzard. 
To my very dear ‘friend, thy Rev. R. P. Alington, of Swinhope 
Rectory, Lincolnshir>, I am indebted for the original drawin 
of the bird before us; and many others from the same skilful 
hand will adorn the pages of the present work, in attitudes 
entirely new and striking. 
The Hobby is a spirited and daring Hawk, and very detr- 
mined in pursuit of its game, so that it was formerly much 
esteemed in falconry, and used accordingly for flying at the 
smaller birds. It may easily be trained to do so, and becomes 
very tame when kept in confinement. It has been known to 
dash through a window into a room, at a bird in a cage; 
and will occasionally follow sportsmen, and pounce upon the 
small birds put up by the dogs. 
‘Though a well-known bird, Mr. Yarrell correctly says, ‘it is 
not very numerous as a species.’ It is, moreover, from its wild 
nature, difficult to be approached, and when met with within 
shot, it is generally when off its guard, in pursuit of its prey. 
The Hobby is found thoughout Europe, occurring in Astra- 
chan, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and many other parts of this 
continent, and is also known in Asia, in Siberia and India— 
in the latter widely distributed, and in Africa near the Cape 
of Good Hope, and no doubt in other districts also. In many 
parts of England it has not unfrequently occurred. In 
Yorkshire, principally in the West-Riding, and occasionally 
near York. It is described by John Hogg, Esq., in a paper 
communicated by him to the British Association, at its session 
at York, in the year 1844, and since published in the ‘Zool- 
ogist,’ as being a rare species and migratory in Cleveland. 
In the East-Riding, one was killed near Knapton by a boy, 
with a stick: it was at the time in the act of devouring a 
rook. In Devonshire, it has been accustomed to breed in 
