HAZEL-HEN— PEREGRINE 73 



when it will lie flat, or creep stealthily to the side away from danger, or suddenly 

 drop and hide among the bushes. In addition to the enemies of blackcock, hazel- 

 hens are the prey of ravens, crows, jays, falcons, sparrow-hawks, buzzards, owls, 

 hedgehogs, squirrels, and other animals. The young are sometimes devoured by 

 snakes, and brooding-hens are often driven from the nest by ants and gadflies. The 

 eggs are laid in a hollow, beside a rock or the trunk of a tree, among heather and 

 ferns, in reeds, or under bushes ; the nest not being easy to discover, owing to its 

 having a sort of cover of the same colour as the ground. Sometimes the eggs are 

 laid in a forsaken pigeon's nest, or some other elevated spot, but this occurs only in 

 certain districts. Each nest contains from eight to twelve reddish yellow eggs, dotted 

 with brownish red spots. If more are in the nest, they have been laid by two hens. 

 As a rule, these birds pair for life, probably in their first spring ; but, while 

 the hen is on the nest, her mate often wanders about in the same district with some 

 other female, and does not return to his family until the young are about eight 

 days old, when he accompanies and protects them. The young leave the nest so 

 soon as they are dry, and run about with their mother to look for food, which 

 consists of small insects and their pupae, and later on of berries, tender herbs, and 

 leaves, and at last of larger insects, buds, etc. The chicks glide very carefully 

 through the shrubs on the ground, and at the warning call of the mother dis- 

 perse and skulk in the covert. When the danger is past they are called together 

 by the chirping of the old bird, which they answer with their shrill pipings, and 

 at night they all creep beneath her wings, where they are sure of a bold defence 

 against all comers. The young, which are reddish brown, yellowish, or white in 

 colour, are at eight days old so well fledged that they can fly to the branches for 

 their night's rest, for food, or at the approach of danger. If in September any are 

 seen half-grown they belong to a second brood, the first having probably been 

 destroyed. In late autumn the members of the family disperse into the forest, in 

 order to pair off soon afterwards. The hazel-hen is more or less numerous through- 

 out Germany, the wooded districts of Switzerland, and the mountains of northern 

 Italy, and is abundant in the Alps, the Carpathians, and especially so in Styria. 

 It is still more plentiful in Eussia, where it serves both as an article of food and 

 of export, particularly in the Baltic provinces, Finland, and the northern and 

 central districts, as well as in Siberia, the countries of the Amur, and the island of 

 Saghalien. It is frequently seen in Manchuria, and is well known as a resident 

 in Japan. In the colder regions, where it is not met with at a greater elevation 

 than 3000 feet, its nestinw-cnrounds extend to the 68th degree of north latitude. 

 The hazel-hen is larger than the partridge but smaller than the blackcock, and 

 has greyish or rufous plumage, which, on the upper parts of the body, is barred 

 with black and brown, and occasionally spotted with white : the throat of the 

 male being black with a white ring. There is a white spot behind the eye, and 

 another on the wing, and the tail is whitish, with dark brown markings, and a 

 black band at the rounded edge. The hen is mostly white on the chin and throat. 



Of the birds-of-prey inhabiting the woods and forests of central 



Europe one of the most noticeable is the peregrine or blue falcon 



(Fulco peregrinus), which ranges from the far north to the tropics. In hot 



