210 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



is almost entirely a bird eater, whereas the food of the 

 kestrel appears to consist chiefly of mice, beetles, snakes, 

 lizards, and the like. Also the sparrow hawk's methods 

 of hunting are more likely to result in its proving mis- 

 chievous, for it is almost entirely a woodland hunter. 

 As already pointed out, the kestrel frequents the open 

 very considerably. It may be seen hovering over open 

 commons and moors, obtaining much of its food there- 

 from, but the sparrow hawk is seldom seen amidst such 

 surroundings except when flying direct from cover to 

 cover. Indeed, even where quite abundant, it is far 

 less likely to come before our notice than the kestrel. 



This latter peculiarity is owing to the sparrow hawk's 

 method of seeking its prey. It is given to appearing 

 suddenly round woodland corners, flying as a rule, 

 below the level of the tree tops, or darting suddenly across 

 open glades and round farm buildings, thereby taking 

 its quarry by surprise. Often it carries out these 

 manoeuvres at great speed, much to the alarm of small 

 birds, and all one sees of the sparrow hawk is a phantom 

 slashing of wings at surprisingly short range, but ere one 

 has time to look round the hawk is gone ! 



Sparrow hawks meet with no mercy from keepers and 

 farmers owing to their habit of visiting chicken and 

 pheasant coops. Once having formed this habit a hawk 

 or a brace of them will raid the same pens day after day, 

 showing the utmost persistency and cunning. They are 

 here and gone like a flash, and the number of chicks 

 they will lift is astounding. A poultry farmer in the 

 Lowlands told me a curious story about a hawk, which 

 for days troubled him, visiting his pens almost hourly, 

 and taking more chicks than he could keep count of. A 

 man armed with a gun was kept employed to wait for it, 

 but the bird developed the cunning habit of alighting 

 unobtrusively in the trees near, and watching closely 



