HAWKS AND OWLS. 25 
be owned that there is some justification for his 
slaughter ; for both the poultry-yard and the covert 
are among his favourite hunting-grounds, and his 
frequent depredations therein of course tell very 
much in his disfavour. But, like almost all other 
mischievous creatures, he has his redeeming features, 
a Ia 
Ss, 
a) 
The Sparrow-hawk. 
and, as the late Mr. E. Newman well remarks, if left 
to himself will save the wages of at least three boys, 
merely by scaring the sparrows from the ripening 
corn. Mice are also frequently numbered among 
his victims, and upon the mischievous capabilities of 
these little creatures it is needless to enlarge. 
