THE KESTREL. 153 
islands that skirt the western shores of Scotland; in Ireland he is said to be not 
quite so common. In Northants Lord Lilford considered the Kestrel to be a 
summer migrant, not to be seen before March, and departing again towards the 
end of October, a few remaining in mild winters. There is no doubt that the 
majority of our Kestrels leave us before the commencement of winter for the 
south, and that those that winter with us are chiefly arrivals from the north of 
Europe. The Kestrel is largely insectivorous, so that the scarcity of its favourite 
food during the winter in this country would naturally induce it to wander off to 
warnier climes where insects could be obtained. However, mice, voles, and small 
birds are also comprised in its ménu, but in severe winters the Kestrels left with 
us must be often pushed to find a meal, and during a deep snow the writer has 
noticed them preying upon Starlings, which being half starved themselves were 
easily caught. In mild winters Kestrels feed almost entirely upon the common 
“clock” beetles, as the writer has proved by dissection. In hot summer weather 
they capture numerous “pu/e—*‘ daddy-longlegs ’’—and may be seen hovering over 
and pouncing upon them in the dry bents; grasshoppers, caterpillars, earth-worms, 
frogs, and lizards are also preyed upon; cockchafers, too, are largely devoured, 
being caught in the air with their feet, and eaten while they are on wing. At 
the time the Kestrel has a hungry brood to cater for, its nest is a dangerous 
neighbour to the Pheasant coops, as it will not hesitate to carry off the young 
Pheasants, and it will occasionally seize young Partridges; but having admitted so 
much as this, the writer would confidently appeal for its general protection as a 
useful bird, of much service to the agriculturist, besides being a great ornament 
to our landscapes. 
In captivity the Kestrel becomes very docile and affectionate; one the writer 
possessed that was allowed its full liberty, ‘‘ flying at hack,” as falconers term it, 
about the house, would fly across a large meadow to meet him, perching upon his 
shoulder, evincing the greatest delight by screaming loudly. Knowing the time 
the greenhouse was usually watered, the bird would be on the watch to fly in at 
one of the windows, when, settling on the ground, he would raise his feathers, 
shake his wings, and look up, plainly asking to be watered, and was then indulged 
in a shower-bath through the rose of the watering can. In his extreme youth he 
had been brought up with a kitten for his companion, and the two friends had 
many a game at hide-and-seek among the flower-beds on the lawn, the Hawk 
pouncing out upon the kitten, the kitten in turn making sallies upon the Hawk. 
When the Kestrel was fed he would first hover his wings over his food, screaming 
loudly, and the kitten, understanding the meaning of his cries, would often rush 
up and rob him of his meal. 
