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 destruction 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 Hobby’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 Palearctic region, extending 
itself northwards almost to the Arctic Circle; in the winter it migrates far south 
into Africa. 
This small Falcon may 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 
