140 LORD LILFORD ON BIRDS IN THE LILFORD AVIARIES. 
arrival of the bird in England and the laying of its eggs, the 
Hobby constantly uses the old nests of Crows, Rooks, and Magpies 
as resting and basking places ; and in one case with which I am 
acquainted, a brood of Carrion Crows had taken wing in the end 
of April, and a brood of young Kestrels Avere taken in early June 
from a nest which contained three young Elobbies on July 28th. 
I have generally put my young Hobbies out “ to hack ” in the 
park at Lilford and allowed them to leave us at their own will ; 
they seldom linger beyond the third week of September, but in the 
meantime their aerial evolutions are a daily delight to me. I may 
as Avell say that although the Hobby is perhaps the most easy of 
all HaAvks to tame, I consider the birds of the year to be quite 
useless in falconry, as though their flight is Avonderfully swift and 
their stooping and turning poAvers exceptional, they are extremely 
bad footers, and ahvays more inclined to toy in the air than stick 
to business. Many of our old authors on falconry tell us that 
many Skylarks and other birds Avere formerly taken by a system 
that they call “ daring,” Avith the Hobby. I quote the folloAving 
description of this diversion from ‘ The Book of Falconrie or 
Hawking by George Turberville, Gentleman, An. Horn. 1G11,” 
p. 56 : — “The doggs they range the field to spring the fowle, and 
the Hobbies they accustome to flee aloft over them, soaring in the 
aire, Avhome the silly birdes espying at that advantage and fearing 
this conspiracy (as it Avere) betAvixt the dogs and hawkes, for their 
undoing and confusion, dare in no Avise commit themselves to their 
Avings, but do lie as close and flat as they possibly may do, and so 
are taken in the nets, which with us in England is called Daring, 
a sport of all others most proper to the Hobbie.” As neither I or 
any falconer of the present day has to my knowledge ever succeeded 
in inducing a young Hobby to “ wait on ” steadily, I am inclined 
to think that this “ Daring ” must have been effected by means of 
old Avild-caught Hobbies, as these birds in August and September, 
Avhen their summer insect prey begins to fail, certainly have a 
special predilection for moulting Larks and an open field. I am 
persuaded that during the months of May, June, and July, till the 
young are hatched, the chief food of the Hobby consists of flying 
insects, especially chafers and large moths, taken on the Aving in 
the evening, bats are also often frequently taken. I have found it 
difficult, as a rule, to keep Hobbies in health through an English 
