46 AMID THE HIGH HILLS 
" I cannot say whether a peregrine falcon could 
overtake and kill a swift, but I do not think it 
would ever attempt the feat. Falcons do not, 
as a rule, attack small birds. The male or tiercel 
will sometimes stoop at them, but more in play 
than in earnest. The female, I should think, 
would never attempt to catch anything smaller 
than a thrush or starling. 
"It is very difficult to estimate the relative 
speed of different birds. To do so, one would 
have to judge correctly of the time taken in passing 
a measured distance on a straight course. Very 
few birds, especially swifts, fly absolutely straight 
ahead. 
" A hobby has been known to catch swifts and 
swallows, and possibly a merlin would do the 
same. 
" A peregrine can fly faster than a merlin, but 
it would not be so quick in turning and following 
a bird. 
" I think a peregrine can fly faster than a teal 
or golden plover, though, as you observe, the 
latter are quicker off* the mark." 
There are very few recorded instances, as far 
as I have been able to ascertain, in which a hawk 
has killed the common swift. In two of these 
