ADVENTURES WITH BIRDS OF PREY 



117 



speed of the fal- 

 con that before 

 the crow had 

 completed this 

 maneuver the pur- 

 suer had struck 

 and zoomed 

 above his quarry, 

 ready for another 

 attack if neces- 

 sary. 



There was no 

 need of a second 

 stoop, for the im- 

 pact of the direct 

 hit had sprayed 

 crow feathers in 

 every direction. 

 They drifted 

 down i n zigzag 

 circles behind the 

 falling crow. Be- 

 fore the last had 

 reached the 

 ground Ulysses 

 was standing be- 

 side h i s fallen 

 quarry. 



SOME HAWK 

 PERSONALITIES 



We called this 

 hawk ''Ulysses" 

 because of his 

 habit of wander- 

 ing a long way off. 



A prairie fal- 

 con captured in 

 Wyoming was 

 named "Cyclone" 

 because he hit so 

 hard. He usually 

 hurt himself 

 when he struck 

 the lure, the heavy padded horseshoe with 

 a piece of meat attached which is swung 

 around to call the big falcons back after 

 they have been hunting (opposite page). 



Another memorable bird was Bad Boy, a 

 male sparrow hawk, so named because when 

 small he had a way of getting out of his 

 box and then digging his talons into our 

 hands when we tried to put him back. He 

 became so tame that he lived in the house 

 with us like a dog and in fact became great 

 friends with Spike, the family hound. 



On his favorite perch on the dining room 

 door he would catch small pieces of meat 

 tossed to him, shooting out his claws at 



,\ WLNGED THUNDERBOLT PKRCHI':S ON HIS TRAINERS HAND 



Ulysses, so named because of his propensity for wandering, is the duck hawk 

 whose sw'ift attack on a crow is described on the opposite page. This is an 

 American counterpart of the noble falcon of Europe's age of chivalry. Tech- 

 nically, only the female is called a falcon ; the male is termed a tiercel. 



just the right instant or flying off to snag 

 them in the air. 



One day, when hungry, he made a mur- 

 derous dive at a neighbor's pet canary, 

 stunning himself against the unseen glass 

 window and scaring the poor bird almost 

 to death. 



Sometimes one hawk will attack another. 

 Once Comet, perched in a maple tree, 

 launched herself at a male Cooper's hawk 

 which one of our friends was carrying on 

 his fist. A quick yell saved the hawk's life. 

 The boy whirled just in time — and Comet's 

 talons ripped a long rent in the back of 

 his sweater. 



