JUNE JOYS 139 



latter is a crow-pinioned bird, impetuous and 

 brave indeed, but lacking the instinctive skill of 

 the sharp-winged falcon to kill its prey imme- 

 diately on capture. It is also somewhat stealthy, 

 and it often approaches the intended victim under 

 cover of a wood or a hedge, till near enough for a 

 successful rush. The kestrel usually soars aloft, 

 patiently scanning the fields below. In June the 

 wants of the young.severely tax the powers of this 

 hawk, whose parental instincts are extraordinarily 

 prominent and gentle ; and then his vigil is 

 continued at evening, sometimes quite into the 

 dusk. 



At that quiet hour he is. perhaps, the most 

 noticeable when, above some sloping meadow or 

 rough bank, he seems almost to lie still on the 

 breeze, while pausing over the tufty grasses where 

 field-mice dwell. But then, soaring barely higher 

 than the tree-tops, he is most often within danger 

 of the keeper's gun. The bird knows well the 

 purpose of the straight, bare weapon, whose glint 

 from the setting sun is perceived even through the 

 tangle of the hedge. He has often seen it levelled 

 with fatal effect by the man now crouching there. 



