127 



GENUS ASTUE. 



GOS-HAWK. 



AsTUR PALUMBARius (Liiinaeus). 



Of very rare occurrence. One was shot near Colne 

 in 1863, according to Mr. Henry Whalley, and Dr. 

 Skaife writes as follows in the Mag. of Xat. Hist., 1838, 

 "Very rare, though shot or caught occasionally in the 

 Forest of Bowland. A relative of my own has a beauti- 

 ful pair, male and female, caught in a trap there a few 

 years since." 



GENUS ACCIPITEE. 

 SPAEEOW-HAWK. 



AcciPiTER Nisus (Linnaeus). 



The Sparrow-Hawk is a resident species, and is found 

 in all wooded districts, breeding more or less commonl}' 

 in proportion to the energy shown by the gamekeepers 

 in its extermination. It may be seen in the hardest 

 winters, though then much scarcer, and it is very prob- 

 able that such birds are migrants from more northern 

 regions. More wary than the Kestrel, it is more per- 

 secuted, and of all my informants only Mr. C. E. Eeade 

 of Urmston considers that in his neighbourhood the 

 Sparrow-Hawk is the commoner of the two. It almost 

 invariably builds a nest for itself, and returns to the 

 same every year ; should this be destroyed in winter, a 

 new one will be constructed, but if this be robbed, then 

 the nearest deserted Magpie's or Carrion-Crow's will be 



