A Falcon's Stoop. 79 



great, since in the short distance between us and the 

 river, they made up the thirty yards or so between 

 them and the bird they were chasing. Just as they 

 caught it up, one of them shot forward slightly and 

 made a downward swoop like a flash. It then sailed 

 en along the river's edge, while the other, immediately 

 turned and flew leisurely back the way it had come. 

 There had been no struggle and no uneven movements 

 on the part of the falcon and nothing to indicate that 

 the prey was taken. We could only imagine that the 

 pursuers were disappointed and that they did not care 

 to continue the chase across the river which the quarry 

 seemed to have reached, but as it had unaccountably 

 disappeared from our sight we could not be sure. The 

 falcon which had made the swoop and was flying along 

 the river's edge settled upon the ground some 200 or 

 300 yards away from us, and then to our intense sur- 

 prise, we saw that it had indeed captured its prey in 

 that rapid swoop, and that it was now standing upon 

 it and tearing it. Wo shouted and fired a shot and the 

 falcon rose, but bore off its prize and would not release 

 it, so that we could only conjecture from the brief sight 

 that we had of it as it was rushing over our heads, 

 that it was a pigeon or a sandgrouse. 



Sandgrouse shooting at many points along the banks 



