314 THE GOSHAWK. 



is both retired and inaccessible, is so chosen as that 

 there shall be plenty of game at no great distance. 

 The female lays from two to four eggs. 



The colour of the goshawk varies so much at differ- 

 ent ages, and even at the same age, that it has been 

 called by a number of names ; but in the times when 

 falconry was a favourite sport, the goshawks were the 

 " gentil falcons," which were trained for flying at geese, 

 cranes, and other large birds. When on the wing, the 

 bird cannot be mistaken by those who have once been 

 acquainted with its size, its boldness, and the straight- 

 ness and rapidity of its flight, together with the unerring 

 certainty and deadly power of its stroke. 



Among rapacious birds, the hawks stand in nearly 

 the same relation to eagles, that the canine species do 

 to the most powerful of the feline among quadrupeds. 

 The lion and the tiger spring, the eagle darts down 

 upon her quarry; and when any of them miss, they 

 do not course the prey. The hawks, on the other 

 hand, start their prey, run it down on the wing, and 

 strike it to the earth ; and the majesty with which they 

 shoot through the air is very great ; at the same time 

 one can see that there is an effort so to drive the game, 

 as that it may not reach the ground, or escape into 

 bushes. The goshawk dashes through the trees of a 

 forest with great vigour ; but in such situations, her 

 prey often escapes ; and therefore, when she can find 

 a proper place for her nest in the vicinity, she daily 

 beats a considerable distance of the moor, more espe- 

 cially if it abound in 



