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SOME BREEDING-HABITS OF THE 

 SPARROW-HAWK. 



(5) General Habits. 



BY 



J. H. OWEN. 



By the time the young are ready to leave the nest , unless 

 the weather has been wet or very windy, down again 

 accumulates on the nest and in its neighbourhood. This 

 time the down is from the young and not from the old 

 bird. 



The ways of the young when once they have left the 

 nest become more and more difficult to follow. At first 

 they return for meals to the nest, but this habit gradually 

 ceases and other old nests are used. I have seen as many 

 as seven Wood-Pigeons' nests used in one tiny copse. I 

 think that the old birds seldom bring food for more 

 than three weeks after the young have left the nest. 

 Then the young have to find it for themselves, and so 

 far as my observations go, the old give them very little, 

 if any, training. The young hen birds seem to hang 

 about the rides of the woods, and it is at this stage that 

 they do most harm to game and chicken rearers. They 

 cannot hunt properly yet, and find Pheasants in the 

 rides an easy prey and will kill birds larger and much 

 heavier than themselves. If disturbed they will return 

 to the kill and can thus be easily trapped, but because 

 a hawk is trapped by a Pheasant found dead, it does 

 not follow that the hawk has killed it ; for they will 

 sometimes eat carrion. The young cocks, on the other 

 hand, seem more often to leave the wood and select an 

 area, usually intersected by large hedges and with 

 running water, that can be worked easily from a small 

 bimch of trees as headquarters. 



In October, there seems to be considerable movement 

 and migration. Afterwards one sees in the breeding 



