426 'The Natural History of Se I borne 



hawk, which, notwithstanding the report of three guns close 

 by it, continued its pursuit of the woodcock, struck it down, 

 and carried it off, as we afterwards discovered. 



At another time, when partridge-shooting with a friend, we 

 saw a ring-tail hawk rise out of a pit with some large bird 

 in its claws; though at a great distance; we both fired and 

 obliged it to drop its prey, which proved to be one of the 

 partridges which we were in pursuit of; and lastly, in an 

 evening, I shot at and plainly saw that I had wounded a 

 partridge, but it being late, was obliged to go home without 

 finding it again. The next morning I walked round my land 

 without any gun, but a favourite old spaniel followed my 

 heels. When I came near the field where I wounded the 

 bird the evening before, I heard the partridges call, and 

 seeming to be much disturbed. On my approaching the 

 bar-way, they all rose, some on my right, and some on my 

 left hand; and just before and over my head, I perceived 

 (though indistinctly from the extreme velocity of their motion) 

 two birds fly directly against each other, when instantly, to 

 my great astonishment, down dropped a partridge at my 

 feet; the dog immediately seized it, and on examination, I 

 found the blood flow very fast from a fresh wound in the 

 head, but there was some dry clotted blood on its wings and 

 side; whence I concluded that a hawk had singled out my 

 wounded bird as the object of his prey, and had struck it 

 down the instant that my approach had obliged the birds to 

 rise on the wing ; but the space between the hedges was so 

 small, and the motion of the birds so instantaneous and 

 quick, that I could not distinctly observe the operation. 

 MARKWICK. 



GREAT SPECKLED DIVER, OR LOON. 



As one of my neighbours was traversing Wolmer forest from 

 Bramshot across the moors, he found a large uncommon bird 

 fluttering in the heath, but not wounded, which he brought 

 home alive. On examination it proved to be Columbus glad- 



