96 WILD LIFE IN THE TREE TOPS 



But at last, perhaps when he was feeling in particularly good form, his 

 efforts were crowned with success. 



It was on the afternoon of January 3, 1919, when, as he was being carried 

 near some farm buildings, a number of sparrows were noticed scratching 

 about at the foot of some straw ricks. 



' Armistice ' was quickly relieved of his swivel and leash, and taken in the 

 hand in readiness for a throw. The sparrows were then approached, and, 

 as they rose, he was thrown towards them. 



On half -opened wings, he shot like an arrow into their midst ; singled out 

 one of them, struck at it, and succeeded only in dislodging a bunch of feathers. 

 As he swung upwards to stoop again the artful sparrow dropped to earth and 

 disappeared, like a flash, under some logs of wood Ijdng near by. Again the eager 

 ' Armistice,' waiting anxiously on the roof of a cow-shed, was called back and 

 taken up. Then, when all was ready, the logs were one by one moved away ; 

 gradually the pile decreased until at last only two logs — side by side — were 

 left. One of them is gingerly moved. ' There he goes ! ' And the little hawk 

 again shoots forward. This time there is no mistake, for he ' binds ' to the 

 sparrow in great style, and, what is more, does not attempt to carry it away, and 

 allows himself to be picked up without any fuss. 



So it was that, just two months after the firing of the shot that brought 

 our little hawk to earth, he was once again at liberty, for we took off his jesses 

 the same day, and watched him fly on to a limb of a large elm-tree. 



During the training of ' Armistice ' some curious incidents occurred, in 

 which wild Kestrels were involved ; incidents which tend to show that these 

 birds are of a rather jealous disposition. 



It happened, as accidents do happen, that when * Armistice ' was flying to the 

 lure one afternoon, he made a particularly sudden stoop, tore the lure from 

 the end of the line, and swung with it into the upper branches of a beech-tree. 



Here, indeed, he was beyond our control, and we looked at one another in 

 dismay. There was our little hawk calmly commencing a good meal, and 

 absolutely out of our reach ! 



What was to be done ? Certainly we could not lure him down, or, since 

 he was only half trained, climb up and bring him down, nor coiild we throw 

 stones or clods of earth at him, as that would only succeed in thoroughly scaring 

 hixn. 



Then it was that a strange thing happened. 



To our surprise he suddenly set up a frantic screaming and almost immedi- 

 ately a wild female Kestrel, swinging into the tree; made a dash at him — or the 

 lure — and the three of them, ' Armistice,' wild hawk and the lure, came tumbling 

 down together in a confused bundle. 



Half-way down they separated, the wild hawk making her way towards a 

 tree some 50 yards away ; ' Armistice ' ruffled and obviously nervous, taking 



