even seize a rising bird in front of the gun. When birds fail, the Hobby has recourse to insects, reptiles,
and field-mice. M. Bailly adds that young Hobbies are gentle and easily tamed, but that, with all his care
and attention, he could not obtain the same result with the old.
“ We believe,” says Latham, “ this to be the most rapid in its flight of all the Hawks : Larks will not trust
to their wings when the Hobby is in sight ; and we remember to have seen a Swallow pursued and overtaken
while on the wiug by this bird. This species was formerly used in falconry, but not known to attempt a
larger bird than a P artridge : it is a great enemy to Larks, and is frequently taken in pursuit o f them by the
bird-catchers in their nets ; hence it is successfully used in the luring o f Larks, for which purpose the Hawk
is cast off, on seeing which the Larks keep to the ground through fear, and the fowler draws his net over
them.”
“ Unlike the Peregrine,” says A. E. Knox, Esq., the Hobby “ prefers the wooded district o f the Weald of
Sussex to the downs or the open country near the coast, being there a summer visitor. Yet even in these
its favourite haunts he must be considered scarce ; for you will rarely discover his decaying form among the
rows of defunct Hawks which garnish the gable end of the keeper’s cottage—a sort o f ornithological register
which indicates, with tolerable accuracy, the prevalence or scarcity o f any species of raptorial bird in its
immediate neighbourhood.
“ The courage and address o f this Hawk are remarkable. When shooting with a friend, a few years ago,
during the early pa rt o f September, we observed a Hobby pursuing a Partridge, which, having been
wounded, was then in the act of a towering.’ The little fellow proved himself a true Falcon by the quickness
with which he rose above his quarry in rapid circles, ‘ climbing to the mountee,’ as our ancestors termed
this manoeuvre, with all the ease o f a Peregrine. Unfortunately, at this juncture the Partridge became
suddenly lifeless, as is the case with all towering birds, and fell to the ground ; while the Hobby, apparently
disdaining to accept a victim which he had not obtained by his own exertions, scudded away after a fresh
covey.”
The usual disparity in the size o f the sexes seen in other Falcons also occurs with the Hobby, the female
being considerably larger than the male. Both are alike in colour when adult ; but the young o f the first
autumn are different, having the feathers of the upper surface margined with yellowish buff, and the general
ground-colour darker than that o f their parents.
The Plate represents an adult male, o f the size o f life, with a Dragonfly (Æshna grandis) in its claws.