88 

 ACCIPITRES. 



FALCONID.E. 



FALCON I D.E. 



'^'^"^■^'K- 



H'^'"^ 



AcciPiTEE Nisus (Linnaeus *). 

 THE SPAREOW-HAWK. 



Accipiter nisus. 



AcciPiTER, Brissonf. — Beak bending from the base, short, compressed, supe- 

 rior ridge rounded and naiTOw, cutting margin of the upper mandible with a 

 distinct festoon. Nostrils oval. Wings short ; the fourth and fifth quill-feathers 

 nearly equal in length, and the longest. Legs long, slender, and smooth. Toes 

 long and slender, the middle toe particularly, the claws curved and sharp. 



The Spakrow-Hawk is another sliort-winged Hawk, bnt 

 of comparatively small size, in its habits very similar to the 

 bird last described, and has been aptly termed a Gos-Hawk 

 in miniature. In most wooded districts the Sparrow-Hawk 

 is a common and well-known species ; bold, active, vigilant 



■" Falcj nisus, Linna?us, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 130 (1766). 

 t Ornithologie, i. p. 310 (1760). 



