DISTRIBUTION DUEING THE WINTER. 63 



a vengeance, and as the windhover invariably 

 prefers far to feather, seldom, as far as my expe- 

 rience goes, killing even a young lark — which, 

 however, occasionally forms an exception to the 

 rule — where mice are to be obtained, it is not dif- 

 ficult to imagine that if half the numbers of this 

 prolific hawk which are bred in England, were to 

 remain with us during the dead of winter, the 

 country would fail to furnish such a quantity of 

 their natural aliment as would satisfy the wants 

 of all, and they would either starve or be com- 

 pelled to do violence to their tastes, and to prey 

 upon many species of birds which they had here- 

 tofore left unmolested. Bat although several 

 kestrels remain scattered at intervals through 

 our woods and over our moors durino; this sea- 

 son — when I have known an instance of a female 

 killing and devouring a wounded partridge — ^yet 

 the great body of those which gradually con- 

 centrate near the coast during the autumn, and 

 afterwards disappear, certainly seem to be on 

 their passage from the more northern and cen- 

 tral parts of the island, preparatory to their 

 migration from this country to some southern 

 region, where their favourite food may possibly 

 abound during the winter. As early as the latter 

 end of February, or the beginning of March, we 

 again notice a considerable addition to their 



