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SOME BREEDING-HABITS OF THE 

 SPARROW-HAWK. 



(3) The Cock. 



BY 



J. H. OWEN. 



The cock Sparrow-Hawk is a queer mixture of pluck and 

 nerves. His boldness and dare-devilry in attack are 

 amazing ; his show of nerves in approaching the nest 

 if it is under human observation (particularly from a 

 hiding tent) equally amazing. 



My own observations have never given me gromids for 

 believing that he takes a share in incubation, although I 

 have, on rare occasions, seen him at the nest with the hen 

 both during the laying and incubation periods. As a 

 rule, he hmits for the hen during the incubation-period, 

 and calls her to fetch the game, which is never eaten at 

 the nest. They usually meet at one of three or more 

 dead branches some little distance from the nest. The 

 prey is devoured there. On rare occasions the hen hunts, 

 at any rate partly, for herself during incubation ; on such 

 occasions she is liable to be a great nuisance to a pheasant - 

 rearing ground conveniently near the nest. 



After the young are hatched, the cock almost invariably 

 goes out of the nest wood to get food. Only twice have 

 we known him for certain to take a victim in the wood 

 itself. He goes out upwind nearly always, but sometimes 

 varies this by going out downwind and then circling 

 round almost immediately. He therefore always hunts 

 upwind or partly so. His usual plan is to go up a fence 

 at a great pace and continually slip over from one side 

 to the othei'. Any hapless small bird that is perched on 

 an outstanding twig is snatched up and carried away. 

 A Sky-lark dusting on a road or lane is also a frequent 

 victim. Sparrows assembled in the rickyard or along 

 a wheat field hedge often provide meals. The victim, 

 when caught for the yomig hawks, is not always killed 

 at once ; we have heard and seen a Greenfinch shrieking 



