BRITAIN'S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 177 



selves. Small sticks are the principal material employed. 

 Sometimes an old nest of a Crow or Wood-Pigeon is used, 

 generally after additions have been made. In May four, 

 five, or six eggs are laid in the nest at intervals of a 

 couple of days. They have the typical orange and brick- 

 red tints of the Order, not all over, but in large, bold 

 patches on a whitish ground. At their best they are 

 perhaps the handsomest eggs laid by any of our native 

 birds. Incubation lasts between four and five weeks, and 

 the young are of the usual type. 



In plumage the Sparrow-Hawk presents a bewildering 

 amount of variation, according to age, sex, and even 

 individual. Birds of both sexes have been recorded as 

 breeding while still in immature garb. In size there is 

 also much individual variation, but the difference between 

 the sexes in this respect is always marked. It is greater 

 than in any other British Bird-of-Prey, and is so notice- 

 able as to make it difficult for one unaware of the fact 

 to believe they are of the same species. It is of course 

 the female that is the larger. 



THE GOSHAWK 



(Astur palumbarius). 



The Goshawk is also a true Hawk, and is in many ways 

 a larger counterpart of the preceding species. Like the 

 Sparrow-Hawk, it was a favourite of the old falconers, 

 and was much used in the pursuit of the larger Wild-Fowl. 

 The name simply means ' Goose-Hawk,' and it is frequently 

 misapplied to the Peregrine Falcon, a fact which must be 

 taken into account in considering the evidence of the 

 Goshawk's former status in the British Isles. But a few 

 Scottish records of its breeding half a century ago seem to 



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