218 
BIRD-LIFE. 
which forbid their being in any way placed on an equal 
footing with the more noble bird; for instance, the 
Goshawk will carry off a whole brood, nest and all, 
to its young! There is only one family superior to 
Eagles, and that is that of the true Falcons; they are, 
indeed, the most knightly of all birds, and rarely 
condescend to take their prey from the ground. Usually 
they only chase and strike feathered game, and this 
openly and honestly, without stratagem or trick. They 
rush upon the flying quarry like a flash of lightning from 
the sky, and seize and kill their prey in the open light of 
day; indeed, one might, more often than not, with reason 
substitute the word adversary, instead of prey. They are, 
indeed, splendid creatures, noble in their bearing and 
actions; a fact that I cannot resist repeating. 
The nocturnal Eaptores , taken as a body, are far behind 
their diurnal representatives. They seize their prey 
secretly, and are materially assisted in this by their 
noiseless flight, as well as by the cloak of night. 
Generally they only take sitting or running prey. If, 
however, some unhappy bird chances to fly across their 
path half asleep, they will also catch it on the wing. 
Their nocturnal companions, bats, are also followed and 
captured by some species; this is, indeed, the noblest 
sport they can pursue. 
The manner in which marsh- and water-birds procure 
their food is not less subject to variation than that pursued 
amongst land-birds. Of Waders, the following—Cranes, 
Storks, Ibises, Curlew Sandpipers, Sandpipers, Godwits, 
Golden Plovers, Lapwings, and Oyster-catchers—simply 
pick up with their beaks from the surface of the earth 
whatever comes in their way, such as grain, insects, 
worms and reptiles, molluscs and mammals. The 
