148 FALCONIFORMES 



either pole the number of species decreases perceptibly. The sight 

 is exceptionally keen, and the flight generally powerful and rapid ; 

 Eagles and Buzzards indeed move heavily to all appearance, as 

 they circle or sail around with flapping action, but the spectacle 

 of the former in chase of a grouse will quickly disillusion the 

 observer. Kites are still more versatile upon the wing, nor are 

 the Polyborine forms always deficient in this respect, while the 

 dash and speed of Hawks and Falcons in their different styles is 

 proverbial. 1 Harriers and the like may be seen buoyantly quarter- 

 ing the ground for hours, poising themselves almost motionless 

 aloft, or gliding in circles to great heights ; and the hovering or 

 stationary position on the wing, which gives the name of " Wind- 

 hover " to the Kestrel, is more general than might be supposed 

 throughout the Family. Taken as a class, few birds can fly so well 

 or so untiringly, though Vultures, Cranes, Storks, Albatroses, and the 

 larger Gulls have even greater powers of endurance ; they can, more- 

 over, perch with great facility, and, while seldom running or walking 

 fast, can move with freedom upon the ground, where they generally 

 progress by means of hops, and aid themselves with their wings. 

 Many of the Falconidae are very quarrelsome, and use their talons 

 as weapons of offence, this trait being emphasized at the nesting- 

 quarters, whence feathered intruders are rigorously excluded. The 

 cry is shrill, but varies in depth ; in the Peregrine Falcon it is a 

 succession of short notes, in Eagles it resembles a yelp, in Buzzards 

 a cat's mew, in Kites a whistle, and so forth ; whereas in Melierax 

 it may almost be called a song. The diet varies considerably, and 

 consists of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, frogs, tortoises, crabs, 

 molluscs, and insects. GypoTiierax, Aquila, Ifaliaslur, Milvago, and 

 Polyborus certainly eat carrion, and the last will attack newly-born 

 lambs a grievance made the most of by sheep-farmers in the case 

 of Eagles ; while the larger forms kill fawns, monkeys, foxes, hares, 

 and other creatures of considerable size. Buzzards keep down 

 rabbits, and hunt rats and mice as assiduously as Harriers and the 

 Kestrel ; the latter devours quantities of insects, as do also some of 

 the Polyborinae; and the so-called "Honey" Buzzard (Pernis) gains 

 its name from its fondness for grubs of bees or wasps. Kites 

 work havoc among poultry ; the Golden Eagle, and still more the 

 Peregrine Falcon, among moor-fowl ; the last two proving an 



1 Falconry is too large a subject to be considered here ; but the reader may be 

 referred to the works of Salvin and Brodrick, Freeman and Salvin, and others. 



