150 WOODLAND, MOOR, AND STREAM 



from the continent, where the woods and forests are 

 more suited to his particular method of capture than 

 ours are. He is very swift for a short chase in com- 

 parison, that is, with the flight of the jer and the 

 peregrine falcons. He has a knack of striking side- 

 ways at his quarry, so as to catch it under the side 

 of the wing when in full flight ; a most deadly kind 

 of proceeding. Hares he grapples and clings to with 

 the grip of a vice. Puss may jump and rush with 

 frantic mad calls of 'Aunt! aunt! aunt!' the cry 

 of the hare in fear and pain but it is to small pur- 

 pose, for the fierce bird bites at the back of the neck, 

 and it is all over. Sometimes if the hare is near thick 

 cover the hawk gets the worst of it, for she rushes 

 into thick stuff and the hawk is knocked off and has 

 a job to get free from the tangle. He is in use at the 

 present time by the few gentlemen who have revived 

 the ancient sport of falconry. 



Next on our list comes that dwarf of a goshawk, 

 the well-known sparrow-hawk. If any one curious 

 in the matter will compare them together, he will see 

 at a glance how very like they are in all points, with 

 the exception of size ; their habits and hunting 

 localities are very similar too. In one point they 

 differ ; the goshawk being very rare, whilst the 

 sparrow-hawk is a very common bird. You will find 



