250 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN. 



male, which, in falconers' vocabulary, is her jack or robin. 

 The length is thirteen inches ; extent of wings, twenty- 

 eight ; bill and feet the same colour as the male; 

 feathers of head margined with brown, throat and neck 

 white ; hinder part of the neck brownish white ; breast 

 and belly reddish white, striped with brown ; the spots 

 on the breast more conspicuous than on the male. The 

 hobby breeds with us, lays three or four bluish-white 

 eggs, u-regularly spotted with grey and olive, and is 

 said to emigrate in October. It was, we are informed, 

 formerly used in the taking of larks and other small 

 birds in the following singular manner, known by the 

 term darings : when the hawk was cast off, while hover- 

 ing on the wing, she was sure to tix larks, and whatever 

 small birds were there, immovable to the ground through 

 fear, which thus paralyzed, became an easy prey to the 

 fowler, who drew a net over them. Buffon says " the 

 hobby was also regularly flown at partridges and quails." 

 These birds migrate in winter, and retm-n in the spring 

 for the purpose of breeding. 



" The hobby builds its nest," says Colonel Montague, 

 " in trees, and sometimes takes possession of a deserted 

 crow's nest. The number of its eggs is usually four, of 

 a bluish white, with olive-green or yellowish-brown 

 blotches. We have seen three young ones taken from 

 a nest which were not of so dark a colour as the old 

 birds. Small as this species of falcon is, it is inferior 

 to none in point of courage, while its flight is wonder- 

 fully rapid, and supported with undiminished vigour 

 for a considerable time. It will frequently pounce on 

 partridges, but its favourite game seems to be the lark, 

 to which it is a great enemy, and it is frequently taken 

 in pursuit of them by birdcatchers in their nets" " We 



