THE MAGPIE AND THE FALCON 
409 
a few are occasionally seen near Niagara ; strange ground, indeed, 
for such vapid, thoughtless birds. There is said to be a natural 
antipathy between the blue-jay and tjie magpie, just as two great 
human talkers are apt to dislike each other, and keep out of each 
other's way ; these two birds, at least, are observed rarely to fre- 
quent the same region. The American magpie is more common 
west of the Mississippi, but even there it is much more rare than 
in Europe, It closely resembles that of Europe, 
The Falcon is another bird of note, from its old feudal associa- 
tions ; and strange as it may appear, the Duck-hawk of this part 
of the world is no other than the full brother of the famous Per- 
egrine Falcon of Europe. It is said to be only the older birds 
which wander about, and as they live to a great age, some of 
them have been noted travellers. In 1793, a hawk of this kind 
was caught at the Cape of Good Hope, with a collar bearing the 
date of 1610, and the name of King James of England; so that 
it must have been at least 183 years old, and have travelled thou- 
sands of miles. Another, belonging to Henri 11. of France, flew 
away from Fontainebleau one day, and was caught at Malta, the 
next morning. The male bird is smaller and less powerful than 
the female, as frequently happens with birds of prey ; it was 
called, on that account, a Tiercel, — a third, — and caught partridges 
and small birds. It was the larger female who pursued the hare, 
the kite, and the crane. These birds will not submit to be en- 
slaved ; they never breed in a domestic state, and the stock was 
replaced by taking new birds captive. Hawking is said to have 
been derived from Asia, — where it is still pursued, in Persia^ 
and China. 
Other kinds, besides the Peregrine Falcon, were trained for 
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