HOW THE FALCON STRIKES HER QUARRY. 169 



effectually. On the contrary when he is found 

 on the higher brows, and makes for the valley, 

 then his fate is sealed. The hawk is up with him 

 in a moment, and strikes him like lightning. 



The peregrine often showed a repugnance to 

 pursuing her quarry across a large piece of water. 

 This was most frequently evinced when wild 

 ducks were the objects of the chace. Sometimes, 

 however, a high-mettled hawk would keep within 

 a certain distance of the bird during the transit, 

 and if the duck, instead of dropping on the water, 

 or seeking shelter in the reeds or rushes on the 

 opposite bank, continued its flight over the moor 

 beyond, she would resume the pursuit with undi- 

 minished ardour. 



It has often been a question with ornithologists, 

 in what precise manner the falcon deals the fatal 

 blow. Some authors have asserted that it is by 

 means of the foot; others attribute it to the 

 breastbone, protected as it is by such strong pec- 

 toral muscles that the concussion which is sup- 

 posed to deprive its victim of life can have no 

 injurious effect upon the author of the momen- 

 tum. My own opinion, which is fully corrobo- 

 rated by the more extensive experience of Colonel 

 Bonham, is that it is by means of the powerful 

 hind talon that the deadly wound is inflicted. If 

 a grouse, a duck, or a woodcock that has been 



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