GREAT-FOOTED HAWK. 
293 
My Duck Hawk never became sufficiently domesticated to 
permit one to handle her ; and if an attempt were made to touch 
her, she would either hop away in anger, or, if prevented from re- 
treating, she would spring upon one, and strike, furiously, with one 
of her powerful feet, which were capable of inflicting severe wounds. 
Unless when very hungry, she would not touch cooked food; she 
preferred fresh killed meat, especially tender beef and mutton, 
generally rejecting the fat. She was fond of small birds, but a live 
duck was her supreme delight : the sight of one would make her 
almost frantic; at such times the vigour and activity of her move- 
ments, and the animation of her eye, were truly admirable. Her 
antipathy to cats was great, and when one of these animals ap- 
proached her, she manifested her displeasure by raising her plumes, 
opening her mouth, and uttering some sounds, which were doubt- 
less intended as a premonition of danger. If, regardless of all 
these, the cat got within striking distance, one blow from the Hawk 
was generally sufficient to compel the intruder to a hasty retreat. 
4 K 
VOL. IX. 
