HOBBY. 77 



Warleigh woods; in Essex, it has been met near Epping; in 

 Norfolk, it occurs as a summer visitor, but the specimens 

 obtained are, according to John H. Gurney, Esq. and William 

 K. Fisher, Esq., in their Catalogue of the Birds of Norfolk, 

 published in the 'Zoologist,' far from numerous, and generally 

 in immature plumage. The same gentlemen record that it 

 occasionally breeds in that county, and that an instance of 

 its doing so occurred at Brixley, near Norwich, in the spring 

 of 18 M; and they mention that an immature specimen of the 

 Hobby was shot some years since while sitting on a church 

 tower!, in the centre of the city of Norwich. The occurrence 

 of this species at Yarmouth, so early as the month of February, 

 is noticed at page 248 of the 'Zoologist.' It has once been met 

 with in Durham. In the Isle of Wight it is, says the Kev. 

 C. Bury, in his Catalogue of the Birds of that island, occa- 

 sionally seen, but he adds that he has not been able to 

 ascertain that it has been known to breed there. An adult 

 male was shot in the land-slip, in October, 1841; and a pair 

 were killed some years previous, also in the autumn, in the 

 heart of the island. In Kent it is recorded by J. Pemberton 

 Bartlett, Esq., to be not uncommon. In Sussex, it has 

 occurred near Battle, Pevensey, Lewes, and Halnaker, in 

 September, 1836, and in other parts of that county. It is 

 sufficiently common, according to the Rev. E. P. Alington, in 

 the neighbourhood of Swinhope, Lincolnshire ; as it also has been 

 in Derbyshire, Oxfordshire, Lancashire, Dorsetshire, where it 

 has been known to breed; as likewise at Cottenham, in Cam- 

 bridgeshire. Cumberland as yet would seem to be its north- 

 ernmost range. It does not appear to be known in Scotland. 



'Unlike the Peregrine,' says A. E. Knox, Esq., 'it prefers 

 the wooded district of the weald to the downs or the open 

 country near the coast, being there a summer visitor. Yet, 

 even in these his favourite haunts, he must be considered 

 scarce, and vou will rarely discover his decaying form among 

 the rows of defunct Hawks which garnish the gable end of 

 the keeper's cottage a sort of ornithological register, which 

 would appear to indicate, with tolerable accuracy, the prevalence 

 or scarcity of any species of raptorial bird in its immediate 

 neighbourhood. ' 



'The courage and address of this Hawk are remarkable. 

 When shooting with a friend a few years ago, during the 

 enrlv part of September, we observed a Hobby pursuing a 

 partridge, which, having been \vounded, was then in the act 



