12 THE BOOK OF A NATURALIST 
feathers out himself or else swallow them along 
with the flesh; the next stage would be that the 
bird would be delivered alive, but partially disabled, 
and he would have to kill it himself; finally, he 
would have to capture his own prey—the last and 
most difficult lesson of all. 
That they were still kept on short commons was 
evident from the perpetual hunger-cries of the 
young when they returned each evening to their 
roosting-place in the wood. From the moment of 
their arrival an hour before sunset, until it was 
almost dark, the clamour went on, the young 
birds following their parents the whole time. 
This continued for a fortnight, and during the 
last few evenings the parent birds introduced yet 
another new subject or feature into their educa- 
tional system. They would rise over the trees, 
both male and female, but keeping wide apart, 
followed by the clamouring young; and floating 
and circling up with easy harrier-like movement, 
they would mount to a height of two or three 
hundred yards above the tree-tops, then suddenly 
hurl themselves down like stones and _ vanish 
among the trees, still followed at a long distance 
by the young. Once down beneath the tree-tops 
it was marvellous to see them, dashing at their 
topmost sparrow-hawk speed hither and_ thither 
among the tall, naked boles, with many sudden 
sharp twistings which apparently just enabled 
them to escape being dashed to death against a 
trunk or branch. Every time I witnessed this 
