312 THE SPAEKOW-HAWK. 



unsuspecting prey before the mother-bird could give an 

 indication of warning, and was out of range before an aim 

 could be secured."^ 



The flight of this bird is very rapid, and when it is seen 

 gliding along the side of a hedge or the edge of a wood, 

 within a few feet of the ground, the wings appear to be 

 only half-expanded. It is capable of turning very quickly 

 on the wing, and may be sometimes observed darting into 

 hedges and bushes to seize small birds which have flown 

 there for shelter from, their enemy. 



Unequal now tlie chace ! struggling she strives, 

 Entangled in the thorny labyrinth, 

 While easily its way the small bird winds, 

 Regaining soon the centre of the grove. 



Grahame, Birds of Scotland. 



When sweeping along near the ground in search of prey, 

 it has the habit of occasionally curving upwards in its 

 flight, to alight upon a tree or wall, apparently for the 

 purpose of resting, or for observation, and on these occasions 

 it sits almost upright upon its perch. When it visits farm- 

 buildings and stackyards, its presence is generally indicated 

 by the alarm of all the small birds in the neighbourhood, 

 such as Sparrows, Chaffinches, and Greenfinches, which 

 hasten to conceal themselves in tlie nearest hedge or thicket, 

 where, after the danger is past, they make loud outcries, the 

 Sparrows chirping and the Chaffinches " twinking " inces- 

 santly for some time. The dove-cot Pigeons, too, dread its 

 approach, and fly round and round the steading in great 

 alarm. The prey of the Sparrow-Hawk chiefly consists of 

 small birds, such as Yellowhammers, Greenfinches, and 

 Chaffinches ; but the female Hawk, which is considerably 



1 Sport in the Hiyhlands and Lowlands of Scotland, by Thomas ►Speedy, 

 1884, p. 366. 



