. THE FALCOIS^ 67 



falcon to kill so many grouse, for we all know 

 tliat when a falcon is in tlie air tliey will not 

 take wing ? The wild hawk is too cunning to 

 show himself as their tame falcons do, trust- 

 ing to their aUies, the dogs, to put up their 

 quarry for them. He watches motionless on a 

 rock, or suddenly appears over a mountain 

 ridge, and if there are any grouse in the country 

 at all they are sure sometimes to wander on to 

 the bare, burnt ground where the young heather 

 is so sweet. He is upon them hke a whirlwind, 

 though whether he will actually strike them on 

 the ground is a disputed question. We know 

 he will skim a young wild duck from the sur- 

 face of the water, and the feathers near the 

 remains often show that they must have been 

 struck close to the ground ; probably in the 

 act of rising. 



One gentleman ^vrote to the papers ad- 

 vising keepers to preserve peregrine falcons to 

 reduce the number of hoodie crows, because 

 he had a tame tiercel which lived on rooks when 

 p2 



