288 
GREAT-FOOTED HAWK. 
his engine of destruction, is not more terrible. But the effect is 
different. When the latter is beheld, the whole atmosphere is 
enlivened with the whistling of wings ; when the former is recog- 
nised, not a duck is to be seen in the air : they all speed to the 
water, and there remain until the Hawk has passed them, diving 
the moment he comes near them. It is worthy of remark that 
he will seldom, if ever, strike over the water, unless it be frozen ; 
well knowing that it will be difficult to secure his quarry. This is 
something more than instinct. 
When the sportsmen perceive the Hawk knock down a duck, 
they frequently disappoint him of it, by being first to secure it. 
And as one evil turn, according to the maxim of the multitude, de- 
serves another, our hero takes ample revenge on them, at every 
opportunity, by robbing them of their game, the hard-earned fruits 
of their labour. 
The Duck Hawk, it is said, often follows the steps of the 
shooter, knowing that the ducks will be aroused on the wing, which 
will afford it an almost certain chance of success. 
We have been informed that those ducks which are struck 
down, have their backs lacerated from the rump to the neck. If 
this be the fact, it is a proof that the Hawk employs only its talons, 
which are long and stout, in the operation. One respectable in- 
habitant of Cape May told us, that he had seen the Hawk strike 
from below. 
This species has been long known in Europe ; and, in the 
age of Falconry, was greatly valued for those qualifications which 
rendered it estimable to the lovers and followers of that princely 
amusement. But we have strong objections to its specific appel- 
lation. The epithet peregrine is certainly not applicable to our 
Hawk, which is not migratory, as far as our most diligent inqui- 
ries can ascertain ; and as additional evidence of the fact, we our- 
selves have seen it prowling near the coast of Newjersey in the 
month of May, and heard its screams, which resemble somewhat 
