BRITISH BIRDS OF FASTEST FLIGHT 45 
cliff, going out to feed, and they went clean past 
the swifts going in the same direction. 
" Of course presumably the pigeons were in a 
hurry and the swifts were not, and unless we are 
certain that both birds are trying their hardest, 
you cannot accept these things as a test of speed. 
" If I were asked to guess roughly at the six 
fastest flying birds in the British Isles, I should 
place them as follows : 
1. The Peregrine, 
2. The Hobby, 
3. The Merlin, 
4. The Golden Plover, 
5. The Pochard, 
6. The Blue Rock Pigeon, 
and the fastest game bird is undoubtedly the 
blackcock. I do not know, however, if a caper- 
cailzie would not beat him if you could get them 
both to take a long flight across the open, because, 
generally speaking, in the case of birds of similar 
shape and species, the heaviest bird is the fastest 
flying one." 
Captain G. S. Blaine, another falconer of long 
and varied experience, has also been so kind as to 
give me his opinion on this question. He writes : 
