THE GOSHAWK 151 



doubtful about the expediency of hacking sparrow-hawks in the 

 same place as merlins or kestrels. In fact it is not safe even to 

 peg out a goshawk in any place where hack merlins can come. 

 I remember an unfortunate jack — the smallest I ever saw — to 

 whom his owner had given the not very classical name of Jones. 

 This hawk was out at hack in a rather promiscuous way, killing 

 sparrows for himself occasionally, and at other times coming to 

 the lure. I think he knew we laughed at him, and thought that 

 life in general was a sort of joke. But one day the fancy seized 

 him to go and fraternise with a big young goshawk which was 

 out on her bow-perch, duly secured by the leash. The owner 

 was absent at the time ; and when he returned there was nothing 

 left of poor Jones other than the feet and a sad litter of pretty 

 brown and white feathers round about the bow-perch. 



When your short-winged hawk has been taken up from 

 hack, or at anyrate when she is to be taken in hand, her trainer 

 must set to work very seriously and very promptly at the 

 business of reclamation. This is not, it is true, different at 

 first in character from that required for the long-winged hawks. 

 But it is often different in degree ; for personal attention and 

 almost perpetual care are a necessity. Unless you can contrive 

 to have her " waked," you will have a tough job with her. Any- 

 how, she must be carried almost all day. Whether eyess or wild- 

 caught, she should be treated very much like a haggard peregrine. 

 Almost superhuman efforts will be required in some cases 

 before she can be manned ; yet manned she must be, and that 

 more thoroughly than a long-winged hawk, before you can hope 

 to do much with her. It required a Sir John Sebright to kill a 

 partridge with a sparrow-hawk ten days after she was caught ; 

 and it would be still more difficult to kill a blackbird in that 

 time. That is, at least, to first kill it, and then take up the 

 hawk ! For carrying is a vice to which the short-winged are 

 naturally disposed, though they are not so bad in this respect 

 as merlins or hobbies. In manning a short-winged hawk it will 

 generally be found better to work very hard for a few days than 

 to work only moderately hard for a much longer time. In fact, 

 a less amount of attention, if concentrated upon the pupil at 

 first, will do more than a much greater share applied to her in 

 smaller doses. 



It is not usual to hood sparrow-hawks much after the time 

 when they are being reclaimed. But they should be kept, like 

 all other hawks, accustomed to being hooded, and not by any 

 means allowed to become hood-shy. And while the business of 

 reclamation lasts it is a good plan to tic the tail. This is 



