124 THE KESTREL. 



breeding-places of falcons and hawks : for Mr Hunter, the 

 engineer, says — " An interesting fact in connection with the 

 Forth Bridge is, that although a great many birds are regularly 

 killed by passing trains, the only birds which build their nests 

 on the top spans are hawks (including the kestrel). They reign 

 alone, and when their nests are visited it is common to find 

 dead blackbirds and other birds, which have been swooped up 

 from below." These " hawks," at least, must have made their 

 own nests, as there were no old carrion crows', magpies', or wood 

 pigeons' nests to lay into amongst those iron branches. 



To show that it preys on larger animals than mice — One 

 summer day, on my way to Priorsmuir, I saw one swoop down 

 and snatch something from a dry-stone dyke and fly high up 

 with it, when it suddenly fell down like a stone on the hard 

 turnpike road near where I stood watching it. I picked the 

 kestrel up dead, and a young weasel also dead. The weasel had 

 fastened on the falcon's throat, and the fall on the road from 

 such a height killed both. Possibly it had mistaken the young 

 weasel for a mouse, and the little quadruped had bit the biter. 

 So there is no use of some authors sneering at the assertions of 

 others, that a polecat sometimes thus kills a golden eagle. 



On July 26th, 1879, when sailing in a boat near the Eden, a 

 young kestrel tried to alight in the boat, but fell into the sea. 

 It allowed itself to be lifted up — quite tame — as if glad to be 

 saved. It had been blown from Tentsmuir, as there was a 

 strong westerly breeze, and it was not able to return ; from this 

 I conclude that many young falcons bred on the sea-coast are 

 drowned. Being easily tamed it was a favourite with lady 

 falconers, and trained to fly at quails, snipes, young partridges, 

 thrushes, &c. There is less difference in size and colour 

 between the male and female than the rest of the falcons. 

 The adult male, however, has the head, hind neck, rump, 

 and tail light grey-blue. The tail has a broad black bar 

 near the end, with white tips. The general colour of both 

 on the back and wings is pale red, with dark triangular 

 spots ; the hinder parts light yellowish-red, with linear spots. 

 The young are similar to the female, with the spots larger. 

 The tail is long and rounded ; the wings, when closed, are 

 two inches shorter than the tail ; the bill is pale-blue, blackish 

 at the tip ; the cere pale orange ; irides hazel ; tarsi and toes 

 also orange. Like all true falcons the tarsi are short and 

 feathered in front fully a third down. The length of the 

 male to end of tail is 13 J inches; extent of wings 28 inches; 



