SPARROW-HAWK 



375 



other two front ones. On this ground, at any rate as a matter of 

 convenience, their separation as a distinct genus is advisable. Other 

 distinctive characteristics are to be found in the shortness of the beak, 

 and the great development of the fleshy tubercles on the lower surface 

 of the toes. 



The sparrow-hawk is a much smaller bird than the goshawk, the 

 female not exceeding 15^ and the male 13 inches in total length. 

 As the fully adult plumage is not assumed till late in life, numerous 

 transitions between this and 



the immature dress are of ": '. ^^^■^ i7g?: 



frequent occurrence ; and 

 some uncertainty still exists 

 with regard to the adult livery 

 of the female. In the fully 

 adult male the upper-parts 

 are dark slaty blue, with a 

 distinctive white patch on the 

 nape of the neck, and rufous 

 cheeks and ear-coverts ; while 

 the under surface is white 

 indistinctly barred with rufous 

 red, although in aged birds 

 the breast becomes wholly red. 

 The hen is generally described 

 as being browner on the back 

 than the cock, and only 

 occasionally attaining the full 

 slaty blue of the latter ; 

 usually she is more strongly 

 marked with pale brown and 



rufous bars on a white ground, with a tuft of rufous feathers on the 

 flanks, but according to some ornithologists she may eventually acquire 

 the uniformly rufous breast of her partner. In immature birds the 

 upper-parts are dark brown, each feather showing rusty margins ; the 

 throat is white with dark brown streaks ; and the feathers of the breast 

 are tipped with chestnut arrow-headed markings, lighter in the centre, 

 and so arranged as to form transverse barrings. Sparrow-hawks 

 frequently breed while still in the immature plumage. Among birds 

 of prey in general, albinos are very rare, but at least four examples of 

 white sparrow-hawks have been recorded, one of these being exhibited 

 in the central hall of the Natural History branch of the British Museum. 



SPARROW-HAWK MALE 



