296 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAVS 
CHAP. 
watching the impending danger, and it attempted 
to evade the attack by rising rapidly in the air, in 
order to destroy the advantage which a higher 
altitude had conferred upon the enemy. It was 
too slow : the falcon shot like an arrow to the mark, 
and struck the heron with such force that for the 
moment both birds, hanging together, fell for about 
100 feet, as though hit by a rifle bullet. After 
the first blow, the large wings of the heron expanded, 
and checked the rapid fall; the falcon was fixed 
upon its back, holding the neck in its sharp beak, 
while it clung to the body with its claws. In this 
position the two birds slowly descended towards 
the ground, twirling round and round in their 
descent from a height of about 1000 feet. 
In the meantime the falconers had been gallop¬ 
ing at full speed around the lake, towards the spot 
upon which they had expected the birds to fall. 
The falcon was very savage, and it continued to 
tear the neck of the heron even when captured by 
the men. This was a cruel exhibition, as the head 
falconer, having taken possession of the birds, 
brought them to be admired, the heron being still 
alive, while the peregrine was tearing at its bleeding 
neck. He appeared surprised that I insisted upon 
its being killed, and he at once replaced the hood 
upon the falcon and prepared for another flight. 
He explained the reason for the peculiar behaviour 
of the falcon in taking a different direction from its 
game; it was afraid of the water beneath, into 
which both birds must have fallen had the heron 
