64 Forest Birds. 
suddenly hurls itself at it like a stone from a catapult, 
never failing to strike its mark. Sometimes as it 
_ glides over the top of a hedge it will hover for a 
moment as though suspended in the air, seemingly 
not quite sure if it were a bird or twig that it caught 
sight of in the hedge below. When chasing its prey 
this hawk is very bold and persistent, often dashing 
after some small bird into the thickest part of a 
hedge, or even through an open window. ‘The bird 
figured on the right-hand side of the accompanying 
plate was stunned by dashing itself against a 
window while chasing a small bird, which suddenly 
dodged aside. . 
We well remember just at dawn one morning in 
the middle of winter, whilst we were lying in wait 
for duck and geese on the marsh, hearing a shrill 
screaming behind us, and turning round we saw, 
through the morning mist, a redshank flying rapidly 
towards us, and just behind, following its every turn, 
was a Sparrow-hawk. So intent were they upon 
their race that both birds passed right over us. We 
fired at the hawk, but although we did not bring it 
to the ground our shot so disconcerted it, that it gave 
up the chase, and the redshank escaped. 
The Sparrow-hawk seizes its prey with both feet, 
and devours it upon the ground. <A heap of feathers 
and the skeleton of a bird are often seen in some 
