WILD ANIMALS TRAINED TO HUNT 97 



to the populace by removing refuse from the 

 streets, they were allowed to go their way unmolested, 

 Bishop Stanley wrote : * On and about the dome 

 of St. Paul's they may be often seen, and within a 

 very few years a pair for several seasons built their 

 nest and reared their brood, in perfect safety, 

 between the golden dragon's wings which formed 

 the weathercock of Bow Church, in Cheapside.' 



Curiously enough, at the time of writing a 

 peregrine falcon has been paying a visit to St. 

 Paul's Cathedral in order to feed upon the tame 

 pigeons that have for so long taken up their abode 

 in the neighbourhood. 



The marauder is one of a pair of birds that have 

 taken up their abode in Bromley, Kent, where they 

 have already made their presence felt by killing 

 several partridges and pheasants. The Daily Mail, 

 in an interesting account of these birds, states : 

 1 Yesterday an omnibus proceeding along the main 

 road to Farnborough stopped, the curiosity of the 

 driver having been aroused by a group of people 

 watching the aerial manoeuvres of many hundreds 

 of rooks, the inhabitants of a large and extended 

 colony bordering the roadway. In a clangouring 

 rush they had left the elms and swept high into 

 the air, forming a vast circle. The cries uttered 

 by the birds were sharper and more querulous than 

 usual. Suddenly all sound ceased, but the agitated 

 circular flight continued, ever mounting higher. 

 Then one segment of the ring appeared to break, 

 and the whole flight converged in a black water- 

 spout-like formation, diving rapidly to earth. 



