146 British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs 



come to us from northern parts of Europe. In his beautiful work on the Birds 

 of Northants, Lord Lilford states that, during recent years, the Hobby has become 

 more common in that county: — "between the years of 1882 and 1890 inclusive, 

 I had positive evidence of the hatching out of no less than ten broods of this 

 species in our district, and sixteen nestlings were brought to me without, so far 

 as I know, the destri;ction of any of the parent birds." There can be no doubt 

 that the Hobby would be more frequently seen in this country if it could escape 

 the attentions of game-keepers ; being generally shot when it is detected it cannot 

 return again the following spring, and in this way wood after wood becomes 

 bereft of this pretty little Falcon which is perfectly harmless to game. However, 

 there are instances of the same cover being tenanted year after year by a pair of 

 Hobbies in spite of the birds being shot each season. In a case in South Devon 

 of a Hobb3''s nest being detected in a wood the writer prevailed upon the keepers 

 to spare the birds, until one day it chanced unfortunately that one of them came 

 upon the three young Hobbies perched together upon a block of granite, and the 

 temptation proved too great, and he fired and killed all three. These victims the 

 writer made into skins ; they were singularly large birds. There are larger and 

 smaller races of very many birds, and these evidently belonged to a larger race 

 of Hobbies ; the difference in size between them and some other young Hobbies 

 that had been taken from the nest, and successfully reared and trained, was very 

 marked. The following summer when this wood was again visited the first thing 

 observed was a beautiful little cock Hobby nailed up among the trophies in the 

 keeper's larder ! 



The Hobby is a summer visitor throughout the Palaearctic region, extending 

 itself northwards almost to the Arctic Circle ; in the winter it migrates far south 

 into Africa. 



This small Falcon ma}^ be easily recognized by its long pointed wings reaching 

 when closed beyond the tip of the tail ; when it is seen in the air it looks like a 

 large Swift. Its food chiefly consists of insects ; such as dragon-flies, large moths, 

 and beetles ; the writer has watched it hawking late in the evening for insects 

 over large woods in South Devon. It also captures and devours mice and small 

 birds ; Larks and Swallows are the favourite quarry. From its being insectivorous 

 the Hobby is not of much use to falconers, but it can be trained to fly at Larks, 

 which will ring high into the air when pursued by it, until both Hawk and quarry 

 are lost to sight. 



The Hobby invariably occupies the nest of some other bird, such as the Crow, 

 Magpie, or Wood-Pigeon, and is a late breeder, the eggs not being laid until some 

 time in June. They are three or four, rarely five in number, subovate, and the 



