THE HOBBY 257 



few feet of the ground, above which and at the 

 same height it rushes along for fifty yards or more, 

 finally flinging itself up again just as spasmodically. 

 Sometimes it hurls itself down only to rise im- 

 mediately, yet this is a happening which largely 

 depends on as to whether its first effort meets with 

 immediate success. Occasionally it will hover mo- 

 mentarily over a clump of bushes, as, for instance, 

 gorse, with its tail expanded to its very fullest. 



This up-and-down flight is quite characteristic 

 of the Hobby, and is extremely beautiful to watch ; 

 and should an observer unfamiliar with this species 

 come across a hawk about the size of a Kestrel, 

 only with far sharper and straighter wings and a 

 shorter tail, practising these aerial manoeuvres, he 

 may rest assured of its being a Hobby. No other 

 English hawk hunts in like manner. 



The Hobby's flight then is a mingling of 

 abruptness, dilatoriness, and impetuosity. At 

 times even it seems but only seems, I think to 

 move really slowly ; next second, however, it is 

 hurling itself through space with dash and quick- 

 ness extraordinary. A peculiar phase of its flight 

 is admirably advertized by the fierce frolics of one 

 soaring some way above a gathering of Swifts col- 

 lected for their evening game of follow-my-leader. 

 At first the hawk, looking like a small anchor, hangs 

 head to wind, a seeming picture of utter non- 

 chalance. Now mark the sudden change. All at 

 once it drops, head first, like a stone, with tightly 



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