24 MY NATURE NOTEBOOK. 



" coasts " down the incline at a speed which only the 

 extraordinary twisting power of the peewit in flight 

 could baffle ; and, though she misses the stroke, the 

 little falcon has still the advantage of her momentum, 

 which shoots her aloft for another stoop. But the 

 peewit has not been idle. He has wasted no pre- 

 cious fraction of a wing-beat since the death-bird 

 rushed past him, but has smitten his way skyward 

 too ; and when the merlin turns over for her second 

 dive there is much less difference in their altitudes. 

 At the same instant the peewit dives too, and just as 

 the merlin's quicker descent is on the point of over- 

 taking him actually has overtaken him, to human 

 eyesight the falling specks diverge, and instantly 

 begin to rise again, the peewit gaining a few yards 

 at the turn, but the merlin with still some of her 

 original momentum to the good. 



THE THRUSH'S FATE. 



Thus you see that after each miss the falcon's 

 chance grows less, and when in irritation, it seems 

 she begins to chase the peewit, instead of rising 

 aloft to stoop at it, she throws her last chance away ; 

 for the game of dodging and doubling in the air is 

 the peewit's speciality. He plays it by himself, out 

 of sheer exhilaration, in spring, swooping and swerv- 

 ing and almost turning somersaults all over a field, 

 as a sort of fancy exhibition for the rest of birddom 

 to admire. Perhaps he might almost enjoy playing 

 it with the merlin after a while, but the latter soon 

 discovers the futility of going after a bird which can 

 turn three times to her once, So she goes off, and 



