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THE HOBBY. 



(Falco subbuteo.) 



Called in Germany the Tree Falcon. 



OF all the Hungarian falcons the Hobby has the swiftest 

 flight; he even pursues the Swallow with success. All 

 the small birds scream with terror when this bird appears. 

 The Swallow dart in an agony of fear under their eaves ; 

 the Larks and other small birds press themselves down 

 on the earth ; the Quails and Partridges do the same. 

 If a little bird happens to be in flight it tries with all its 

 strength to soar higher and higher, so that the Falcon 

 may remain beneath it, otherwise it is a lost bird. If the 

 Falcon gets above, it shoots like an arrow, with closed 

 wings, down on to the bird. The Hobby does not 

 despise a grasshopper as food, in the twilight a moth 

 does not come amiss ; indeed it has lately been observed 

 that it sometimes snaps at bees. But it does not eat 

 carrion. 



In the olden days the Hobby has also been used to 

 hunt small birds. 



At the present day it is a great friend to the railway, 

 where it circles about the trains and drives away the 

 small birds. It is by no means rare in Hungary. 



In England the Hobby arrives about the latter part 

 of May, and it may at intervals be found breeding in 

 most of the Southern counties, notably in Hampshire. 

 Once it nested in Essex pretty regularly, also to a certain 

 extent in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and 

 Norfolk, rarely in Yorkshire, sometimes in the Midlands, 

 but in the West and in Wales it is scarce. It has never 

 been known to nest in Scotland, and very few Hobbies 

 have been seen in Ireland. 



