THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 
37 
of them struck a heron, and also a gray crow that came near, 
though without pursuing, or caring to pursue either to the death. 
Yery different were curlews treated one day at the end of August, 
to seize which every attempt was made. My friend and his com- 
panions were fishing on Loch Ruthven, when a flock of nine 
of these birds appeared. Immediately afterwards, a tercel came 
in sight, bearing down upon them so suddenly, as to be hardly 
seen until he had singled out and swept one of them from a 
height of about fifty yards into the lake. Here he pounced at 
it, but without striking, though it did not go beneath the surface 
of the water. On the tercel's flying a little way off, to take one 
of his bold circles when the quarry is put down, or “ at bay," the 
curlew rose to follow the flock, and had got away about a hundred 
yards when the tercel again bore down upon it. Refuge was a 
second time taken upon the lake. This was repeated not less 
than ten times. The speed of the tercel's flight was consi- 
dered to be twice that of the curlew's, as, when circling about two 
hundred yards off, he never gave his desired victim leave to get 
more than about half that distance ahead, until he had it down 
again. The curlew, though apparently more fatigued and worn 
out every time it was put down, — the last time hardly able to 
rise from the lake, — escaped, in consequence of the flock from 
which it came, or a similar number of birds, appearing in sight, 
when its persecutor betook himself after them. He very soon 
had one of this flock also in the water, and enacted just the same 
part towards it as he had done towards the other. It was put 
down to the lake at least a dozen times, and along a great extent of 
its surface, once between the boats of the fishing party, not more 
than about fifty yards distant from each other. The hawk and 
curlew were both several times within about twenty yards of the 
boats, and once indeed, the latter, closely pursued, took the water 
just before the bow of one of them. Eventually, the tercel left 
off the chase, though, as in the former instance, the curlew was 
nearly worn out. The poor bird now seeing two of its species 
come in sight, joined them, and they all went off safely in com- 
