1 86 LLOYD'S* NATURAL HISTORY. 



On its first arrival in May, however, before the insects which 

 it loves are on the wing, the Hobby feeds on small birds, such 

 as Thrushes and Larks, especially the latter, and it is a terror 

 to Swallows, remains of which birds are often found in its nest 

 and feeding-haunts. It has even been known to catch Swifts 

 and Starlings ; Sandpipers and Quails are also taken by this 

 active little Bird of Prey. It has also been known to accom- 

 pany sportsmen, and give chase to the small birds which are 

 frightened up from the ground by the dogs. 



Its favourite haunts are the borders of the forests, whence it 

 can sally forth over the surrounding fields. Perched on a tree 

 or a stone, it awaits the appearance of any small birds, and 

 then flings itself upon them with great velocity, producing 

 quite a noise with its wings in doing so. Should the quarry 

 seek protection by hiding in the grass, the Hobby stops for an 

 instant, but goes off if it does not at once detect the presence 

 of its prey. 



Nest. The Hobby appears never to build its own nest, pre- 

 ferring to appropriate the old one of a Crow or Kestrel Hawk. 

 The late Professor Taczanowski of Warsaw, from whose writ- 

 ings I have taken some of the above notes, states that the ap- 

 propriated nest is generally at the top of a good-sized pine, and 

 that the Hobbies re-line it with twigs, stalks, and dry grass. 

 Mr. Frank Norgate, who has found several nests in Nor- 

 folk, says that, in his experience, there is no attempt on the 

 part of the Hobby to restore or line the nest which it adopts 

 as a home. In Pomerania, however, Dr. Holland says that 

 the nest is re-lined with hair, wool, and feathers. The lateness 

 of the breeding of the Hobby, which lays its eggs in June, 

 lenders the appropriation of a Crow's nest a convenient matter, 

 as the young of the Carrion Crow have flown before the Hobby 

 begins to lay. 



Eggs. From three to five in number. In general appearance 

 they resemble those of the Kestrel, but are not so varied in 

 colour as the latter, though many specimens are indistinguish- 

 able from the ecrgs of the last-named bird. The general 

 colour of the Hobby's eggs is a dark rufous, the ground-colour 

 of the egg being seldom visible, on account of the closeness of 

 the rufous mottlings. It is of a 4ull white, and, in the less 



