OUR BIRD ALLIES. 23 
CHAPTER TE 
HAWKS AND OWLS. 
HAwks—Their scarcity in Great Britain—A reign of terror— 
The Sparrow-hawk—The two sides of its character—The 
Kestrel—A guiltless sufferer—Mice and the Kestrel— 
General diet of the bird—A gruesome tale—Flight of the 
Kestrel—Its nest and eggs—OwLs—Their valuable cha- 
racter—The Barn-owl—‘‘ Pellets” of rejected matter— 
Prevost Paradol on the Barn-owl—Does the bird eat shrews ? 
—Facial discs of the Owl—Their true object—Talons of 
the Barn-owl—Self-acting muscles—Owl versus Dog— 
The seamy side of the Barn-owl’s character—The Long- 
eared Owl—lIts diet—Its nest and eggs-—The Short-eared 
Owl, and its value to the farmer—The Tawny Owl—Its 
diet and general character. 
THANKS to the gun of the farmer, the gamekeeper, 
and the amateur naturalist, the once extensive cata- 
logue of British hawks is now practically represented 
by two species only. The Eagle, the Peregrine Fal- 
con, and the Goshawk have been banished to the far 
north, where, among their mountain fastnesses, they 
yet linger, although in numbers sadly diminished. 
The Osprey, from a regular inhabitant of the country, 
has been reduced to the position of an occasional 
visitor; the Buzzard and the Kite, once plentiful 
enough, are almost extinct as far as the English 
counties are concerned ; and the Merlin, the Hobby; 
