BRITISH BIRDS OF FASTEST FLIGHT 69 
one crow, becoming rather bolder than the rest, 
provoked the falcon into retaliation. Dropping 
the crow it was carrying, the falcon stooped on the 
troublesome crow, struck and killed it and, turn- 
ing with extraordinary rapidity, caught in the 
air the dead crow which it had been carrying, and 
then recommenced its upward flight without 
further trouble from the crows. 
The marvellous speed of the golden eagle and 
peregrine in their final rush, when stooping from 
a height at their quarry, must be seen to be 
believed. Few persons have been so fortunate as 
to have this opportunity in the case of the golden 
eagle, although this grand bird is often to be seen 
in some forests and has no doubt increased in 
numbers in recent years. On the other hand, 
there are of course many persons who have seen 
both the wild peregrine and the trained gyr- 
falcon and peregrine strike down their quarry. 
The well-known ornithologist and wild-fowler, 
Mr. W. H. Robinson of Lancaster, in a letter in 
the Field of January 28, 1922, after stating from 
his own experience that the peregrine can over- 
take the golden plover and the curlew with the 
greatest ease, says : 
" To my mind one of the fastest things I have 
