HAWKS. 135 



hare, which, whenever it came within her reach, attacked it 

 with her paws, and at last succeeded in knocking it down, 

 when it dropped its prey. At this moment the gentleman ran 

 forward, and the Hawk and its pursuer both made their retreat ; 

 upon his reaching the spot where the prey had been dropped, 

 he found it to be a fine leveret, which at once explained the 

 cause of the parent hare's gallant attack on the Hawk. It 

 was wounded on the side of the head, and was bleeding, but 

 the gentleman left it in a furrow, hoping that the wound 

 might not prove fatal, and that the mother might find it, and 

 reap the reward of her maternal attachment. 



It may seem extraordinary that they should presume to 

 meddle with living things of their own size and weight, but 

 it is still more remarkable that they should occasionally wage 

 successful warfare with birds still larger than themselves, as, 

 for instance, with the Jay. Not long ago some boys observed 

 a Hawk flying after a Jay, which, on reaching, it immediately 

 attacked, and both fell on a stubble-field, where the contest 

 appeared to be carried on ; the boys hastened up, but too late 

 to save the poor Jay, which was at the last gasp; in the 

 agonies of death, however, it had contrived to infix and en- 

 tangle its claws so firmly in the Hawk's feathers, that the 

 latter, unable to escape, was carried off by the boys, who 

 brought it home, when, on examination, it proved to be a 

 Kestrel. The Sparrow-hawk of North America, which is 

 more nearly allied to the Kestrel, is often known to attack the 

 Blue Jay of that country. No wonder that Jays have a great 

 dislike to this Hawk, and never fail to annoy it by every 

 means in their power. Sometimes they will follow in order 

 to plague it, and at other times, they, by imitating its note, 

 will deceive and draw it from its haunts. In return for all 

 this abuse, the Hawk now and then revenges itself by killing 

 and eating the fattest of its persecutors. 



Eapid as is the flight of these birds of prey, and accustomed 

 as they are to pounce at once on their game, and if disap- 

 pointed leave it, and continue their search elsewhere- they will 

 at times follow a devoted bird for a length of time with great 



