THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 37 



of them struck a heron, and also a gray crow that came near, 

 though without pursuing, or caring to pursue either to the death. 

 Very different were curlews treated one day at the end of August, 

 to seize which every attempt was made. My friend and his com- 

 panions were fishing on Loch Buthven, when a flock of nine 

 of these birds appeared. Immediately afterwards, a tercel came 

 in sight, bearing down upon them so suddenly, as to be hardly 

 seen until he had singled out and swept one of them from a 

 height of about fifty yards into the lake. Here he pounced at 

 it, but without striking, though it did not go beneath the surface 

 of the water. On the tercel's flying a little way off, to take one 

 of his bold circles when the quarry is put down, or " at bay," the 

 curlew rose to follow the flock, and had got away about a hundred 

 yards when the tercel again bore down upon it. Eefuge was a 

 second time taken upon the lake. This was repeated not less 

 than ten times. The speed of the tercel's flight was consi- 

 dered to be twice that of the curlew's, as, when circling about two 

 hundred yards off, he never gave his desired victim leave to get 

 more than about half that distance ahead, until he had it down 

 again. The curlew, though apparently more fatigued and worn 

 out every time it was put down, — the last time hardly able to 

 rise from the lake, — escaped, in consecmence of the flock from 

 which it came, or a similar number of birds, appearing in sight, 

 when its persecutor betook himself after them. He very soon 

 had one of this flock also in the water, and enacted just the same 

 part towards it as he had done towards the other. It was put 

 down to the lake at least a dozen times, and along a great extent of 

 its surface, once between the boats of the fishing party, not more 

 than about fifty yards distant from each other. The hawk and 

 curlew were both several times within about twenty yards of the 

 boats, and once indeed, the latter, closely pursued, took the water 

 just before the bow of one of them. Eventually, the tercel left 

 off the chase, though, as in the former instance, the curlew was 

 nearly worn out. The poor bird now seeing two of its species 

 come in sight, joined them, and they all went off safely in com- 



