THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 12 7 



was walking along the highway opposite to a piece of woods, a large 

 hawk was seen on the roadway struggling with a full grown ruffed 

 grouse, which had apparently just been stricken with the hawk's 

 talons when in rapid flight across the clearing. The hawk was soon 

 driven from its prey by the hostile demonstrations of man and dog, 

 and took immediate flight to the high branch of a neighboring tree, 

 but its victim the grouse had received mortal injuries, and died im- 

 mediately afterwards in the hands of the human interrupters of the 

 fray. 



This incident suggested the reading of the old time legends of 

 the art of falconry, and exemplified the wonderful velocity of flight 

 of the hawk species. Although the grouse family are endowed with 

 great muscular power of wing when pursued by the large hawks, 

 they have little or no chance of escape in the clearing ; for in a 

 straight unimpeded flight the falcon is sure of his prey, and the only 

 chance of the fugitive is in twists and angular progress among 

 branches or boughs. No accurate idea of the hawk's wing power 

 can be formed from watching the bird's flight when circling aloft in 

 its pride and recreation near the clouds in spring time. Their speed 

 of motion when about to seize their prey must be seen to be realized, 

 the very air hums with vibration when they swoop down in a dia- 

 bolic curve on the object that they wish to appropriate, and every 

 nerve and sinew, and plume and quill, is strained to the most des- 

 perate tension, and failure is almost out of the range of possibility. 



These non-migrating hawks prowl about the bush haunts of the 

 ruffed grouse, and live well where the latter are numerous ; for they 

 have, when the snow is not deep, to search on the ground for food 

 in the open beech or maple forests, where their capture by the hawk 

 is easily accomplished ; but when the snows become deep, and the 

 grouse have to depend for food supply upon the buds of the aroma- 

 tic birch-shrub, and a precarious assortment of bush-berries, the 

 thickets are a protection from the assaults of their powerful winged 

 > enemies. Such is the dread of the ruffed grouse of the falcon tribe 

 that quite a number of instances have been reported of the grouses 

 flying into houses, or into the open doors of barns (where men have 

 been working) in mortal fear when pursued by their fiendish foes. 



Not very long ago one of these December or winter-lagging 

 hawks swooped down in the poultry yard of the writer and struck its 



