At Home with Wild Nature 



natured contempt, but finally lost his temper, and, 

 turning suddenly, swooped like a winged fury upon his 

 tormentor. The crow, realizing his danger, put his bill 

 straight down and dived headlong for the friendly cover 

 of his native wood. Discretion came too late, however, 

 and his greatest speed appeared to be a mere snail's 

 pace compared with that of his pursuer. There was a 

 resounding thwack of wings, a trailing cloud of feathers, 

 and the carrion half flew and half tumbled, a sorer and 

 wiser bird, into the arboreal sanctuary below. The 

 peregrine had evidently misjudged his blow, and utter- 

 ing an angry, chattering cry of disappointment, circled 

 round once or twice and then made off into the blue. 



Luckily for lovers of British ornithology this noble 

 bird is more numerous than it is popularly supposed to 

 be. Its two greatest enemies are gamekeepers and egg 

 collectors. The ever-ready destroying hand of the 

 former is, however, sometimes stayed by an enlightened 

 lessee of a grouse moor, who wisely recognizes that a 

 pair of peregrines do good by picking off diseased and 

 weakly birds, and thus keep the breeding stock strong 

 and healthy. Fortunately the birds often select a nest- 

 ing-ledge in an overhanging cliff, where they are safe 

 from the most intrepid cliff-climber, be he ever so ready 

 to act the part of a living pendulum by swinging on the 

 end of a climbing rope. Members of this species are by 

 no means averse to making their homes in the steeples 

 and spires of cathedrals and churches, and only quite 

 recently I saw a beautiful male shot within seventeen 

 miles of the very centre of London. 



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