96



Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker,



him, but he still infinitely preferred Hying savagely at a finger placed

through the wires rather than take food from it.


There was about a fortnight of this calm and then a tragedy

occurred, for on visiting the aviary one morning I found that Mr.

Woodpecker was a widower and his poor lady lay on the floor of the

cage not only dead but half eaten. There was a solemn hush in the

aviary, the widower crouched on a log in the furthermost corner, the

Kestrels huddled together on a perch, awestruck and mute, whilst

the murderer sat on a perch by himself and picked from his claws

the remains of Mrs. Woodpecker which still adhered to them.


An examination of the victim’s body showed that the little

falcon had struck just like the larger birds, such as the Peregrines

strike, ripping open the centre of the Woodpecker’s back, and it must

be assumed, stunning her so that he was enabled to finish his bloody

deed on the ground.


After this I removed the other Woodpecker to a safer abode,

leaving the aviary to the sole occupation of the birds of prey, but I

really think the Kestrels would also have liked a “remove.” They

wore a scared expression, and the subsequent death of one or

two of them may have been due to nerves, for I could find no other

cause. I never saw the falcon attack them, but if he was irritated

or annoyed by their flying or perching too close to him he would

hunch himself up and hiss at them in such a vicious manner that

they always at once collapsed into stillness until his majesty was

once more good tempered.


This little Falconet remained with me for two years, and was

finally released when I went home on leave, as there was no one I

could trust to look after him in my absence. It is impossible to say

that he ever became tame, in the sense that one uses the word of

most cage birds. He had no fear of me, but neither had he any

fear of anything else, and the utmost I can pretend to having gained

from him was a dignified tolerance of my presence and an accept¬

ance of my services w 7 hen he needed them. He would take any

special dainty from my fingers, or if the dainty was not special

enough, would take a bit of the finger instead when he had the

chance.


He was very crepuscular in his habits, like the wild birds of



