SPARROW HAWK. 249 



taste, as well as bad feelinjr, are the principal charac- 

 teristics of the action. 



In January 1831, I observed a sparrow hawk fly 

 over a field in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. It 

 was followed .at a distance by a loose flock of small 

 birds, which, however, soon dispersed. It proceeded 

 leisurely over the field, at a height of from six to ten 

 feet, moving gently along with slightly opened tail. 

 After se.arching some minutes in this manner, it alight- 

 ed on a twig in the field, where it remained in a nearly 

 erect position until I put it up, when it flew along, sur- 

 veying the ground as before ; but finding nothing, glid- 

 ed over the top of the wall, at a height of a few inches, 

 and flew oft^ to renew its search elsewhere. I mention 

 this merely because it aff"ords a correct idea of the man- 

 ners of the bird. 



In July 1829, while walking along George's Street, 

 I observed a sparrow hawk flying over the houses, 

 with a train of about twenty swallows, which kept up 

 an incessant chatter. This fact, the like of which every 

 naturalist must have often observed, I introduce here 

 in order to state all that I know on the subject. Birds 

 of prey of all kinds are objects of terror to the animals 

 on which they feed, at least to the mammalia and birds. 

 Thus, the larks or partridges of a field over which a 

 hawk is hovering, crouch motionless on the ground, 

 and, under the influence of this panic, will even occa- 

 sionally suff'er themselves to be taken by man. On the 

 other hand, a bird of prey is often seen to be annoyed 

 by other smaller and weaker birds, not of a rapacious 

 nature, which fly after it in scattered bands, some 

 keeping beneath, some above it, but always at a consi- 



