130 
HAWKING. 
a meal upon the Pigeons, having been kept fasting for some I 
hours before. 
The Pigeons were placed for them on the body of the 
Heron; and after they were satisfied, they were again 
hooded and put up for the day. The next cast of Hawks 
consisted of two younger birds ; and when let loose at 
another Heron, they flew up to it very well. But the 
Heron was an old one, and was supposed to have been 
attacked before ; for the moment he saw his enemies below, 
he began to soar into the air, and set up a loud croak, and 
the two young Falcons, not so experienced as the two first 
older ones, would not attack the Heron, but after flying 
about for some time left him. Upon this one of the 
falconers set up a peculiar call, to which the birds were 
accustomed, when one of them, from a great height in the 
air, immediately closed his wings, and darting down to the 
man who called him, was taken in hand. The other Falcon, 
however, was not so well trained and obedient, but continued 
to sail about in the air. 
At length a Heron approached, and she attacked it, but 
without success, and soon left it; at last a third Heron 
crossed, which she attacked, and, after a short struggle, , 
succeeded in bringing to the ground in the same manner as 
in the first case. This last Heron had its wing broken, and 
the falconer killed it, but the other was taken alive, and 
afterwards turned out before a single Falcon, which struck it 
down in a minute. It was said, that if a Heron had been 
once taken by a Falcon, it would never afterwards show 
sport by soaring and endeavouring to escape. It was the 
case with this one, for as soon as it saw its enemy approach- 
ing, it appeared to lose all its powers, and merely made a 
trifling and awkward defence on the ground, where the Falcon 
would speedily have killed it, if the lure had not been 
thrown in her way. # 
It will be observed that in the above instances the Hawks 
either obeyed the call, or were seemed by their keepers on 
* Naturalist's Magazine. 
