LORD LILFORD ON BIRDS IN THE LILFORD AVIARIES. 139 
experience of falconry in India, may be of interest. He informs 
me that the Saker, or “Cherrug,” as this species is called by 
Indian falconers, is supposed to nest in the Punjab and Afghanistan, 
but only visits the plains of India during the cold weather. This 
bird is very rarely to be seen perched or anywhere near the 
ground, but has to be looked for high up in the sky. On 
perceiving a Saker, the native Hawk-catchers let go a “ Luggur,” 
Fa/co jugger , with its eyelids sewn together or otherwise blinded ; 
to the feet of this Hawk they attach a bunch of largo feathers to 
deceive the Saker into the idea that the Luggur is making off with 
its quarry, the former bird having a special dislike for the latter; 
to the bunch of feathers are attached a number of horse-hair 
nooses. The Luggur being temporarily deprived of sight, on being 
thrown off, rings feebly up into the air ; the Saker hardly ever fails 
to come down with a liorco stoop to rob the other bird, and so 
gets taken. 
This species is trained to fly at Gazelles, Hares, Houbara, 
Bustards, and Kites, for which last flight it was held in very high 
estimation by European falconers of the 15th and 16th centuries. 
Several of these ancient authors agree as to the high courage, 
perseverance, and ferocity of the Saker. I am not aware that this 
Falcon breeds in any part of Europe except the Danubian provinces, 
where it is said to lay in the abandoned nests of Vultures and 
Kites in high trees. To my eyes the Saker in external appearance 
and shape is a gigantic Kestrel, and is quite as promiscuous as that 
well-known bird in its choice of food. I have kept many Hobbies, 
Falco sublmteo , mostly obtained in the midland counties from old 
nests of the Carrion-Crow in high oak trees. With us at Lilford 
the Hobby is a regular summer visitor, appearing about the middle 
of May and leaving the neighbourhood early in October. The 
normal complement of eggs is three, and I feel sure that in some 
of the many reported cases of four or five eggs having been found 
in Hobbies’ nests, one or two were laid by a Kestrel, and remained 
addled in the nest after the others of that bird’s sitting had been 
hatched and the young birds fledged and flown. The Hobby does 
not, I think, pair till after its arrival in this country ; at all events, 
I have known of many instances of the finding of fresh eggs in 
July, and the young birds are seldom fit to take before the last 
week of that month. During the interval that occurs between the 
