Page:The Common Birds of Bombay.djvu/39

Rh barred, and this is generally a conspicuous mark if the bird flies overhead. But to try to make out hawks by their colour is at the best a short road to despair. Naturalists learn to recognise them as David's watchman recognised the courier who brought tidings of the victory over Absalom:— "His running is like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok." Every bird of prey has its own character, some trick of flight, some peculiarity of attitude when at rest, something in its figure and proportions which serves to distinguish it decisively. The Sparrow Hawk flies with a few rapid strokes of the wings and then a gliding motion, and this, together with its short, rounded wings and long tail, distinguishes it from any other common bird of prey. I learn of its presence oftener by the ear than the eye. Its sharp, impatient, double cry arrests attention among all other bird-voices. The Sparrow Hawk makes its nest in a tree in the hot season and lays three or four white eggs.

The Falcons have longer and more sharply pointed wings than the hawks and their flight is fierce and very swift. They resort to no surprises, like the Sparrow Hawk, but give chase to their prey in the open sky and fairly hunt it down. The Peregrine Falcon, which has a peculiar fondness for wild ducks, is not uncommon about the coast and doubtless often flies over Bombay, but there is only one species which really inhabits the island, and that is the Laggar Falcon (Falco Jugger). It finds living cheap and good in our city, for it is partial to a diet of pigeons. A wild pigeon, pursued by one of these birds, once tumbled into my house in such a panic