48 



HISTORY OF BIRDS 



sary that the bird should not only be make ac- 

 quainted with this, but fond of it, and deli- 

 cate in his food when shown it. When the 

 falcon has flown upon this, and tasted the first 

 morsel, some falconers then take it away; but 

 by this there is a danger of daunting the bird ; 

 and the surest method is, when he flies to seize 

 it, to let him feed at large, and this serves as 

 a recompense for his docility. The use of this 

 lure is to flatter him back when he has flown 

 in the air; wbich it sometimes fails to do; and 

 it is always requisite to assist it by the voice 

 and the signs o'f the master. When these 

 lessons have been long repeated, it is then ne- 

 cessary to study the character of the bird ; to 

 soeak frequently to him, if he be inattentive 

 to-tbe votpe*f to stint in his food such as do 

 not come- kindly or readily to the lure ; to keep 

 waking him, if he be not sufficiently familiar; 

 and to cover him frequently with the hood, if 

 he fears darkness. When the familiarity and 

 the docility of the bird are sufficiently con- 

 firmed on the green, he is then carried into 

 the open fields, but still kept fast by a string, 

 which is about twenty yards long. He is then 

 uncovered as before ; and the falconer, calling 

 him at some paces distance, shows him the 

 lure. When he flies upon it, he is permitted 

 to take a large morsel of the food which is 

 tied to it. The next day the lure is shown 

 him at a greater distance, till he comes at last 

 to fly to it at the utmost length of his string. 

 He is then to be shown the game itself alive, 

 but disabled or tame, which he is designed to 

 pursue. After having seized this several 

 times with his string, he is then left entirely 

 at liberty, and carried into the field for the 

 purpose of pursuing that which is wild. At 

 that he flies with avidity ; and when he has 

 seized it, or killed it, he is brought back by 

 the voice and the lure. 



By this method of instruction, a hawk may 

 be taught to fly at any game whatsoever ; but 

 falconers have chiefly confined their pursuit 

 only to such animals as yield them profit by 

 the capture, or pleasure in the pursuit. The 

 hare, the partridge, and the quail, repay the 

 trouble of taking them ; but the most delight- 

 ful sport is the falcon's pursuit of the heron, 

 the kite, or the wood-lark. Instead of flying 

 directly forward, as some other birds do, these, 

 when they see themselves threatened by the 

 approach of the hawk, immediately take to 

 the skies. They fly almost perpendicularly 

 upward, while their ardent pursuer keeps 

 pace with their flight, and tries to rise above 

 them. Thus both diminish by degrees from 

 the gazing spectator below, till they are quite 

 lost in the clouds; but they are soon seen 

 descending, struggling together, and using 

 every effort on both sides ; the one of rapa- 

 cious insult, the other of desperate defence. 



The unequal combat is soon at an end ; the 

 falcon comes off victorious, and the other, killed 

 or disabled, is made a prey either to the bird 

 or the sportsman. 



As for other birds they are not so much 

 pursued, as they generally fly straight for- 

 ward, by which the sportsman loses sight of 

 the chase, and what is still worse, runs a 

 chance of losing his falcon also. The pur- 

 suit of the lark, by a couple of merlins, is 

 considered to him only who regards the saga- 

 city of the chase, as one of the most delightful 

 spectacles this exercise can afford. The amuse- 

 ment is to see one of the merlins climbing to 

 get the ascendant of the lark, while the other 

 lying low for the best advantage, waits the 

 success of its companion's efforts ; thus while 

 the one stoops to strike its prey, the other 

 seizes it at its coming down. 



Such are the natural and acquired habits of 

 these birds, which, of all others, have the 

 greatest strength and courage relative to their 

 size. While the kite or the goshawk approach 

 their prey sideways, these dart perpendicu- 

 larly, in their wild state, upon their game, 

 and devour it on the spot, or carry it off, if 

 not too large for their power of flying. They 

 are sometimes seen descending perpendicu- 

 larly from the clouds, from an amazing height, 

 and darting down on their prey with inevit- 

 able swiftness and destruction. 



The more ignoble race of birds make up 

 by cunning and assiduity what these claim by 

 force and celerity. Being less courageous, 

 they are more patient; and having less swift- 

 ness, they are better skilled at taking their 

 prey by surprise. The kite, that may be dis- 

 tinguished from all the rest of this tribe by 

 his forky tail and his slow floating motion, 

 seems almost for ever upon the wing. 1 He 



1 The kite is variously diffused throughout England, 

 being a common bird in many parts of the country, and 

 rare in others. In all the wooded districts of the eastern 



and midland counties it is abundant : it is also met with 

 in Westmoreland ; but is seldom seen in the northern 

 parts of Yorkshire, in Durham, or Northumberland. In 

 Scotland, it occurs plentifully in Aberdeenshire, and is 

 found also in the immediate vicinity of Loch Katerine, 



