252 ACCIPITER NISUS. 



wing-ed species, its agility and spirit gave it favour in 

 the eyes of the falconers of old, who found it sufficient- 

 ly docile, and quite expert at capturing small birds. 



Propagation. — In the Hebrides, the sparrow hawk 

 breeds in the crevices of rocks ; but in the wooded 

 parts of the country it often takes possession of the de- 

 serted nest of a crow, or forms one for itself in a tree, 

 or even a bush of no great height. The nest is bulky, 

 flat, composed of twigs and some grass. Tlie eggs, 

 which are from three to five in number, are of a round- 

 ish or broadly elliptical form, an inch and seven-twelfths 

 long, one and four-twelfths in diameter, of a bluish- 

 white colour, blotched and spotted all over with deep 

 reddish-brown. The young are abundantly supplied 

 with food. Mr Selby relates, that, " in a nest con- 

 taining five young ones, he found a lapwing, two black- 

 birds, a thrush, and two green linnets, recently killed, 

 and partly divested of their feathers." 



White, in his " Natural History of Selborne," gives 

 an interesting account of a family. *" About the 10th 

 of July 1780, a pair of sparrow hawks bred in an old 

 crow's nest, on a low beech in Selborne Hanger ; and 

 as their brood, which was numerous, began to grow up, 

 became so daring and ravenous that they were a terror 

 to all the daws in the village that had chickens or 

 ducklings under their care. A boy climbed the tree, 

 and found the young so fledged that they all escaped 

 from him ; but discovered that a good house had been 

 kept ; the larder was well stored with provisions ; for 

 he brought down a young blackbird, jay, and house- 

 martin, all clean-picked, and some half devoured. The 



