176 The Kites and Hawks 
instant I sprang to my feet and we met literally face to face. 
An unmistakable female Goshawk! So close were we that I could 
see every marking on her richly barred breast as with outspread 
tail she violently checked her flight and swerving round dashed 
off out of sight through the woods to my right. The identification 
was absolute. So proceeding to the nest I climbed up to it with 
no small difficulty and took the eggs, three in number, for she had 
laid another since my visit three days earlier. But any attempts 
at photographing the nest or eggs were foredoomed to failure. It 
was a beautiful day with a fresh breeze, and the whole upper 
portion of the tree was swaying to the wind. In addition the 
canopy of green leaves above the nest, bending to every fresh 
gust of wind, cast a chequered shade on the eggs which varied 
every instant. My camera was a one-speed Kodak, and it was 
clearly hopeless to look for success under such adverse conditions. 
Nor did I achieve it. Descending, I endeavoured to obtain at 
least a picture of the tree and nest from below. This proved 
equally hopeless, for the tree stood in a densely overgrown and 
shady part of the forest and was surrounded by others festooned 
with swaths of wild vine and sarsaparilla, which, surging in the wind, 
impeded the view from every side. The nest itself was almost con- 
cealed from view by the ivy below it and was not visible at all in the 
finder of the camera. Experience of many nests in similar positions 
has taught me the inutility of attempting to photograph them, since, 
no matter how clear the prints may be, the whole subject is on 
such a small scale as to render it of very secondary interest. 
THE SPARROWHAWK (Accipiter nisus). 
This well-known British species is rather scarce in south-west 
Andalucia despite the great extent of woods and country suitable 
to its habits. I fancy, however, it is commoner than is supposed, 
