Page:Rural Hours.djvu/455

Rh a few are occasionally seen near Niagara; strange ground, indeed, for such vapid, thoughtless birds. There is said to be a natural antipathy between the blue-jay and the magpie, just as two great human talkers are apt to dislike each other, and keep out of each other's way; these two birds, at least, are observed rarely to frequent the same region. The American magpie is more common west of the Mississippi, but even there it is much more rare than in Europe. It closely resembles that of Europe,

The Falcon is another bird of note, from its old feudal associations; and strange as it may appear, the Duck-hawk of this part of the world is no other than the full brother of the famous Peregrine Falcon of Europe. It is said to be only the older birds which wander about, and as they live to a great age, some of them have been noted travellers. In 1793, a hawk of this kind was caught at the Cape of Good Hope, with a collar bearing the date of 1610, and the name of King James of England; so that it must have been at least 183 years old, and have travelled thousands of miles. Another, belonging to Henri II. of France, flew away from Fontainebleau one day, and was caught at Malta, the next morning. The male bird is smaller and less powerful than the female, as frequently happens with birds of prey; it was called, on that account, a Tiercel,—a third,—and caught partridges and small birds. It was the larger female who pursued the hare, the kite, and the crane. These birds will not submit to be enslaved; they never breed in a domestic state, and the stock was replaced by taking new birds captive. Hawking is said to have been derived from Asia,—where it is still pursued, in Persia, and China.

Other kinds, besides the Peregrine Falcon, were trained for