A Few Feathered Fiends. 215 



all hopeless specimens of humanity, an obstinate, 

 ignorant farmer takes the lead. By the aid of a 

 field-glass I could easily follow the movements of a 

 harrier as it was walking about a level field. At 

 such a time this hawk is anything but graceful, the 

 walk often breaking into a series of hops, and some- 

 times what might be called a flying jump, the bird 

 expanding its wings and going forward three or 

 four feet and sometimes as many yards. This par- 

 ticular bird quartered the ground very well, going 

 to and fro, or from side to side, like a well-trained 

 setter after quails. After much crawling and exer- 

 cise of patience, I once surprised a harrier in the 

 act of tearing the frozen roof from a mouse's bur- 

 row. When it discovered me it cackled somewhat 

 after the manner of a guinea-fowl, and flew off 

 with a rapid movement unlike its ordinary flight. 

 If these hawks worked in concert when ground- 

 hunting, they could do their work much more effec- 

 tively, but I have never seen them associated. The 

 beautiful blue-gray males — the old birds — occasion- 

 ally appear in March, at which time their greater 

 activity, more conspicuous coloring, and suppressed 

 kitten-like cry make them a prominent feature of the 

 landscape. 



It may be supposed from the little I have said 

 of this mild-mannered mouse-hunter that it is a long 

 remove from the so-called ** noble" falcon, and so it 

 is ; but if you muffle the jaws of a steel trap and 

 capture one without doing it an injury, and then 

 study it at close quarters, you will find spirit enough 



