112 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



[vol. X. 



by both birds or the cock, as late as mid-May. It is 

 possible, but improbable, that they are not performed 

 by every pair of birds. It is extraordinary how few 

 people have seen these flights. They take place both 

 in the early morning about sunrise and in the evening 

 about sunset, the earlier display being more prolonged. 

 They are exceptionally interesting because the move- 



Pig. 3. SPAEROW-HAWK. 



Ihe hen preejiing lier tail. 



(Photographed by J. H. Owen.) 



ments are diametrically opposed to the usual movements 

 of Sparrow-Hawks. Ordinarily the Sparrow-Hawk flies 

 low, never mounting and at a very good pace ; in these 

 evolutions the movements are slow and often conducted 

 at a great altitude. The hawks rise above the nest- 

 wood and fly to and fro, the length of it, sometimes 

 along one side and back along the other. They maintain 

 a horizontal course from end to end and rise at a very 

 steep gradient at each turn. The movement of the 

 wings is slow and measured and first one bird leads and 



