6 BIRD LIFE IN ENGLAND. 



Such hereditary nests there have been at Goathland in 

 Yorkshire, and Killing Nab Scar, while " Falcon Scar," 

 " Hawk Scar," " Eagle Cliff " and such local names no doubt 

 mark other localities. 



The peregrine likes to strike his prey in fair fight. 

 The following curious story lays stress upon this peculiarity. 

 " Whilst out shooting with two companions one day in 

 January, in the county of Cork, we saw," writes a sportsman, 

 " in the midst of a sixty-acre pasture a curious conflict going 

 on between a peregrine and what we at first supposed to be 

 a smaller hawk, but which subsequently proved to be a 

 woodcock, a considerable number of which birds had been 

 driven from the coverts by the late heavy rains into the 

 surrounding turnip fields. As the pair seemed to be coming 

 towards us we concealed ourselves, in hopes of getting a 

 shot, behind a bank and hedge whence we could see the 

 whole performance. The woodcock flew close to the ground 

 until the hawk struck at him, when, avoiding the stoop by a. 

 sharp turn, he invariably pitched on the ground until the 

 hawk had passed ; then rising pursued his flight in the 

 direction of a thick covet about five hundred yards distant, 

 until again obliged to pitch in order to avoid a second attack. 

 This continued until both came within fifty yards of the 

 bank behind which we were concealed. Here the hawk 

 " struck " several times at the woodcock whilst on the ground, 

 wheeling round after each " stoop " to try again. Upon this 

 the woodcock never attempted to fly, and we could plainly 

 see his tactics. He was evidently tired, and, sitting well 

 back on his tail, he presented his long bill against every 

 onslaught of his enemy, and afforded us the strange spectacle 

 of a woodcock by nature a very timid bird successfully 

 defending himself from the attacks of a large hawk. The 

 hawk, either fearing impalement, or, as is the habit of his 

 species, not liking to strike his prey when on the ground, 

 avoided coming to close quarters, and always turned aside 

 when about a foot from the woodcock. After one of these 



