26 ART AND PRACTICE OF HAWKING 



ranean. It was observed and reported upon by Brooke in 

 Sardinia, and Kruper in Greece, which latter observes that it is 

 " a noble falcon, and was in early ages used for falconry." I have 

 not discovered the chapter or verse in which this use is men- 

 tioned ; but the hawk is obviously quite big enough to be flown 

 at partridges, if willing to go. Both the above-named natural- 

 ists maintain that its food consists principally of birds, and Dr. 

 Kruper declares that he found in its nests the remains of six 

 different kinds of bird, including quail and hoopoe, A specimen 

 was trained by Lord Lilford in 1868, who found it very obedient 

 to the lure, but of no use in the field. 



Hobby {Falco sabbuteo) 



Female — Length, 13 to 13 J inches; wing, 11}; tail, 6\. 

 Male — Length, 11 to 12 inches; wing, about 10^; tail, 5J. 



This very beautiful and graceful little hawk may at once 

 be identified by the exceeding length of its wings, which, 

 when closed, extend a full half-inch beyond the end of the tail. 

 It is conspicuous also by its very marked colouring, which is in 

 young birds almost black on the upper parts, each feather, how- 

 ever, being tipped with fulvous brown. The lower plumage is 

 creamy white, streaked profusely with dark brown splashes, and 

 tinted on the throat and sides of the head with a warm buff. 

 There is a broad black patch below the eye, and a black eye- 

 brow, with a small streak of buff above it. The moustache is 

 broad and strongly marked. The cere is greenish grey ; and 

 the feet, originally of the same hue, develop gradually into light 

 yellow, and later into gamboge and bright orange. The deck 

 feathers are plain, but all the others are barred both above and 

 below by about ten cross-bands of lighter brown. 



In adults the upper plumage changes to a uniform dark 

 slate colour, nearly black towards the head. The flanks and 

 thighs, especially in the male, assume a more and more distinct 

 rufous colour. The feet are proportionately small, and the legs 

 decidedly weak. 



There are strong evidences that the hobby, when com- 

 monly bred in Western Europe, was used with success for 

 taking larks, not only by the process of "daring" referred to 

 later on in the chapter on lark-hawking, but in actual flight, and 

 that the female was used for taking partridges in the same way. 

 The failure of modern falconers to make any practical use of this 

 elegant and prepossessing hawk, is noticed in detail in the same 

 chapter. Owing to its natural tameness, the hobby is especially 



