254 FIELD-STUDIES OF RARER BIRDS 



and who finds broods of Kestrel and Sparrow- 

 Hawk in June and July, attracted to them solely 

 by the droppings and castings at the base of the 

 nest-tree, and by the querulous " chitterings " of 

 the nestlings up above. From which combined 

 causes the Hobby should live long and prosper. 

 Doubtless the majority w r ould do so, only, 

 unfortunately, the bird risks its safety by its love 

 of hunting in the open and by its remarkable tame- 

 ness. No British hawk normally permits of so 

 near an approach as the Hobby. Let me cite just 

 two cases, both of which ended disastrously for 

 the bird. On July 4th, 1907, a keeper of my 

 acquaintance espied a hawk (which turned out to 

 be a fine male Hobby) standing on the dead limb 

 of an ivied oak at one corner of the " sacred- 

 birds' ' field. He proceeded to stalk it, which the 

 foolish bird allowed him to do despite the fact that 

 from the lie of the ground he was forced to 

 stumble along inside a double hedgerow before 

 finally getting within shot. The same sort of 

 thing only it was very much stranger happened 

 to this man's brother. One day in October, 1903, 

 he was out getting a pheasant or two. Just as 

 he had flushed one from a hedge-bottom, he 

 noticed a hawk fly into a tree not far away. Not 

 only did he bag the " long-tail," but directly after 

 that strolled towards the spot, where the hawk 

 still remained unconcernedly despite the report, and 

 dropped what proved to be a Hobby. 



