VERMIN. 135 



the hillside one hot Sunday forenoon, seeing a 

 Partridge come over the ridge flying at a great 

 speed and uttering a cry of alarm, which drew my 

 attention to it. Following close after was a 

 Sparrow-Hawk, who quickly overtook the Part- 

 ridge, and, striking him in mid-air, both came to 

 the ground together in a field of clover about six 

 hundred yards from where I sat. I ran down 

 quickly to the spot, the Hawk only leaving his 

 quarry when I was a few yards away. The 

 Partridge I found dead with a wound in his head, 

 from which blood was oozing. The Sparrow- 

 Hawk is a fearless and daring bird when in pursuit 

 of his prey, and has been known to dash through 

 the glass of a dining-room window to get at the 

 canary in the cage. 



The wicked but dashing little Merlin we only 

 see now at rare intervals in the fall and spring 

 of the year. Thirty years ago or more the 

 bird was fairly common. Flying overhead at 

 a swooping pace, I, making due allowance for 

 speed and distance, fired at a Merlin, and, 



