HAWK. 
396 
This is not a common bird in England, but is 
frequently seen in Scotland, where it is very de- 
structive to game, dashing through the woods after 
its quarry with great impetuosity. M. Button, who 
had two of these hawks in his possession, says that 
“ the female was at least a third larger than the male, 
and its wings, when closed, did not reach within 
six inches of the end of the tail ; it was more bulky 
when full grown than a large capon. The count 
observed, that though the male was much smaller 
than the female, it was fiercer and more vicious. 
They were both difficult to tame, and often fought 
each other with their claws, turning upon their 
back and defending themselves with their spread 
talons. “ Though confined in the same cage, they 
were never perceived to contract the least affection 
for each other. They continued together a whole 
summer, from the beginning of May to the end of 
November, when the female in a violent fit of rase 
murdered her mate, at nine or ten o’clock in the 
evening, when the silence of night had soothed the 
rest of the feathered race in profound repose. Their 
dispositions are so bloody, that if a goshawk be left 
with several falcons, it butchers them all one after 
another. It appears to prefer the common and field 
mice and small birds, and eagerly devours raw flesh, 
but constantly declines meat that has been cooked, 
though by long fasting it can be brought to over- 
come this natural aversion.” This bird discovered 
a constant uneasiness when any person approached, 
nor could the cage even be passed where it was kept 
