26 THE VULTURE. 
dark, shoot past you, when you are watching behind 
a tree, with inconceivable velocity, and snatch away 
the unsuspecting bunting from the hedge. But 
when food seems not to be the object, especially 
about the breeding season, you may observe the 
windhovers rising in majestic evolutions to a vast 
altitude ; but, if you watch till your eyes ache, you 
will never see them descend upon their prey from 
this immense height : indeed, the great distance to 
which they rise would operate much against them in 
their descent to seize their food. For example, sup- 
pose a mouse to be on the ground, exactly under a 
hawk, which hawk is so high up that its appearance 
to the observer's eye is not larger than that of a lark, 
how is the hawk to take the mouse ? If it descend 
slowly, the wary mouse would have time to get into 
its hole ; if the hawk came down rapidly, the noise 
it causes in darting through the expanse would be a 
sufficient warning for the mouse to get out of the way. 
In order to have a proper idea of the noise which the 
descent of the bird would cause, we have ^nly to 
listen to a rook in the act of what the peasants call 
shooting, and which, by the by, they always consi- 
der as a sign of coming wind ; though, in fact, it can 
easily be accounted for without any aid from con- 
jecture. It might here be asked, for what object, 
then, do many birds of prey rise to such an amazing 
height in the sky ? I answer, I know not. Why 
does the lark mount so high, and sing all the time ? 
His female and other listeners on the ground would 
hear him more distinctly and clearly, were he to 
