Page:The Natural History of Ireland vol1.djvu/61

 of them struck a heron, and also a gray crow that came near, though without pursuing, or caring to pursue either to the death. Very different were curlews treated one day at the end of August, to seize which every attempt was made. My friend and his com- panions were fishing on Loch Ruthven, when a flock of nine of these birds appeared. Immediately afterwards, a tercel came in sight, bearing down upon them so suddenly, as to be hardly seen until he had singled out and swept one of them from a height of about fifty yards into the lake. Here he pounced at it, but without striking, though it did not go beneath the surface of the water. On the tercel's flying a little way off, to take one of his bold circles when the quarry is put down, or "at bay," the curlew rose to follow the flock, and had got away about a hundred yards when the tercel again bore down upon it. Refuge was a second time taken upon the lake. This was repeated not less than ten times. The speed of the tercel's flight was consi- dered to be twice that of the curlew's, as, when circling about two hundred yards off, he never gave his desired victim leave to get more than about half that distance ahead, until he had it down again. The curlew, though apparently more fatigued and worn out every time it was put down, — the last time hardly able to rise from the lake, — escaped, in consequence of the flock from which it came, or a similar number of birds, appearing in sight, when its persecutor betook himself after them. He very soon had one of this flock also in the water, and enacted just the same part towards it as he had done towards the other. It was put down to the lake at least a dozen times, and along a great extent of its surface, once between the boats of the fishing party, not more than about fifty yards distant from each other. The hawk and curlew were both several times within about twenty yards of the boats, and once indeed, the latter, closely pursued, took the water just before the bow of one of them. Eventually, the tercel left off the chase, though, as in the former instance, the curlew was nearly worn out. The poor bird now seeing two of its species come in sight, joined them, and they all went off safely in com-