28 THE BIRDS OP OXFORDSHIEE. 



s 



THE KESTREL. 



Falco tinminadiis. 



The Kestrel is a resident species, comparatively few in- 

 dividualsj however, remaining- during- the winter. In spite of 

 constant persecution the Kestrel, though less abundant than 

 in some wilder parts of England, is a familiar object, flying 

 quietly over the fields or suspended in mid air, now rapidly 

 beating its wings, now poised almost motionless, save for the 

 broad, expanded tail which regulates its position, as it hangs on 

 the breeze, and then gliding on for a short distance to repeat the 

 performance. It is searching for field mice, wdiieh constitute 

 its favourite food, and perchance you may see it drop suddenly, 

 with closed wings, ujion one in the grass. Only in severe 

 weather have I seen the Kestrel strike at small birds, upon 

 which it sometimes feeds, but in captivity mice are always 

 preferred before anything else, and it will also eat various 

 insects ; earthworms are not discarded, and a Kestrel, turned 

 loose with a clipped wing in a garden at Bodicote, might 

 often be seen taking them on the lawn in summer evenings. 



Small birds seldom show any terror at the approach of the 

 Kestrel ; its offences against the game preserves are few ; and 

 from the benefits this mouse-eating hawk confers on the 

 agriculturist it should claim protection at his hands. 



The Kestrel usually deposits its eggs in the deserted nest 

 of a crow or other bird, but has occasionally been known 

 to breed in a hollow tree ; one such nest was found by 

 my friend Mr. J. Rolleston Earle, who took five eggs from 

 a hollow elm near Oxford on the 15th May, 1883 [Zoologist, 

 1884, p. 148). The young of the Kestrel when first hatched 

 are covered with bluish-grey dowTi. 



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THE SPARROW HAWK. ^ 



Accipiter nistis. 

 The Sparrow Hawk is a resident, and although not yet 

 scarce, has become very much less common of late years. 



