THE SPARROW-HAWK 161 



tiger, and will learn to treat her master to the amiable side of her 

 character, and the quarry to the other. She will go on flying 

 almost as long as you like to fly her, and start at one sort of 

 bird almost as readily as another. She will work in any kind 

 of country to which you introduce her ; and if she does not 

 make a good bag it will not be for want of will on her part, or 

 for not doing her best. It seems almost that in proportion as 

 the difficulties of training are great, so is the result the more 

 gratifying when they have once been overcome. Mr. Riley, 

 who has flown both goshawks and sparrow-hawks with the 

 greatest ardour and success, is of opinion that from the point of 

 view of mere sport, the latter are even superior to the former. 



In the good old days partridges seem to have been taken 

 pretty commonly with the female sparrow-hawk. But when I 

 say taken, I do not mean that many old birds were actually 

 caught in the air by the hawks. This would imply that the 

 old-fashioned sparrow-hawk was faster and stronger, as well as 

 better trained, than those of our own time. What often occurred 

 was no doubt that the partridge was pursued by the hawk, and 

 taken by the men or dogs. For the sight of this hawk, when 

 she really means business, is quite enough to take all the courage 

 out of even a bold partridge, and induce him to lie close in the 

 hedge or thicket into which he has been put, when he can be 

 grabbed by a spaniel or retriever, or even sometimes picked up 

 by hand. I make no question that the old-fashioned falconers, 

 by the aid of their drugs and nostrums, kept their hawks of all 

 kinds — and especially hobbies — in better condition than we do. 

 But even then it would probably have been considered quite a 

 feat to take old partridges on the wing with a sparrow-hawk. 

 And now, when the stubbles can only be called covert by 

 courtesy, and to get within fifteen yards of a bird is a rare 

 thing, it is certainly more difficult for us than it was for them to 

 get a fair start at one. But a time often comes in a day's 

 shooting when the birds, having been shot at a good deal, and 

 scattered like sheep without a shepherd, lie very close in a 

 patch of clover or thin roots. This would be the time for one 

 of the guns, who had brought out his falconer with a sparrow- 

 hawk in reserve, to call the latter forward. The rest of the 

 guns — or some of them at least — would probably be glad 

 enough to see so unusual a sight as a flight with a sparrow- 

 hawk at a partridge. Anyhow, the interruption to the business 

 of the day, while the little hawk was flown, would be very slight. 

 Of course a sparrow-hawk which is intended to fly partridges 



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