124 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



Mr. Knox, in his charming book, Game Birds and 

 Wild-Fowl, says : " It is because the breast-bone of the 

 hawk isprotected with such strong pectoral muscles that 

 the concussion which deprives its victim of life can have 

 no injurious effect upon the author of the momentum 

 which causes the injury." 



How, then, are peregrines to be got rid of? This 

 is the question pressing for solution, on a moor where 

 they take up their abode. Preparatory to nesting, these 

 birds are sometimes seen flying about the top of a cliff. 

 I previously recommended a number of cairns to be 

 built with stones to a height of from 4 to 5 ft., so as to 

 be out of the way of sheep these cairns to taper to 

 the top, and be capped with a turf or divot, in which 

 a hole could be cut out. When a trap was placed in 

 this hole and covered as carefully as possible, it was 

 found that the peregrine was frequently caught. I have 

 known many peregrines killed in this manner. As these 

 traps were generally set in high altitudes, exposed to 

 the sweeping blasts, there was difficulty in keeping them 

 covered with earth or other suitable material. The 

 peregrine is a 'cute bird, hence the necessity for careful 

 covering. 



The falcon, as already observed, is the most dash- 

 ing of our birds of prey, and to see him making a quarry 

 is something to be remembered. He is, however, a 

 merciless tyrant, a meaningless murderer, shedding 

 blood from mere wantonness. I have seen him strike 

 down a blackcock and continue his flight without taking 



