14 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



5. HOBBY. 



Falco subluteo. 



The Hobby is a summer visitor to England and is 

 by no means a very uncommon bird in this part of 

 our county, where its nest is occasionally met with. 

 Though less frequent with us than it was some 

 twenty or thirty years ago, few summers pass without 

 my observing one or more of these birds in this 

 neighbourhood. In the month o'f September 1878, 

 when Partridge-shooting near Tichmarsh, I repeatedly 

 saw a Hobby in pursuit of small birds, and Mr. G. 

 Hunt informed me that he observed one on several 

 occasions during the summer of 1879 near Lilford. 

 A female in adult plumage was shot by one of the 

 gamekeepers here just outside the park in May 1875 ; 

 and I am acquainted with many occurrences of this 

 species in various parts of the county. The Hobby 

 may easily be distinguished from our other small 

 Hawks by its remarkably long, pointed wings, and its 

 habit of circling high in air without, so far as my 

 observation goes, hovering as the Kestrel continually 

 does. In pursuit of its prey the rapidity of the 

 Hobby is marvellous, and the manner in which it 

 turns and mounts after making a stoop is quite un- 

 rivalled by any bird of prey with which I am 

 acquainted. In this neighbourhood this little Falcon 

 seems to prefer Sky-Larks and Buntings ; I have often 

 seen it also chase Swallows and Martins ; but this 

 has seemed to me to be more in play than in earnest, 

 although in a fair open field few of our small birds 

 would have a chance of escape from a Hobby. It is, 

 however, to a great extent insectivorous, and certainly 



