RURAL BIRD LIFE, 



the shadows of night are falHng, into the depths of the 

 gloomy evergreens, where he ofttimes seeks repose. 



As you wander through the depths of the woods O" 

 through the closest thickets you will sometimes notice a 

 heap of feathers : these are the remnants of the Sparrow- 

 hawk's meal. Search closer, and you will probably find 

 portions of the skull and entrails of the victim, and by 

 your knowledge of the plumage of birds you will also be 

 enabled to tell what little chorister has been destroyed. 

 These remnants are most frequently found on elevated 

 places, a moss-covered rock, large stone, or even the 

 broad horizontal limb of a tree. The Sparrowhawk 

 does not consume so many of the feathers as we should 

 suppose, the wing and tail feathers are invariably re- 

 jected ; yet the bones are all eaten, so too are the feet. 

 The refuse of his food — bones, fur, and feathers — is re- 

 jected in the form of pellets. The food of the Sparrow- 

 hawk is mainly confined to the smaller birds up to the 

 size of a Thrush, although he is capable of destroying 

 much larger birds : witness his depredations amongst the 

 Partridges and Pigeons. The manner in which he takes 

 his prey is somewhat different to the Windhover. He 

 rarely hovers in the air previous to making his swoop, 

 but dashes like a whirlwind at his quarry, and bears it 

 off before we have time for thought. Most of the small 

 birds are his victims more or less. The Bunting on the 

 hedgerow, the Pipit cowering in the meadow grass, poor 

 Cock Robin and the Dunnock near our habitations, and 

 the Creeper and Wren in amongst the trees. The 

 charming little Bullfinch loves the thickets, so too does 

 the Sparrowhawk, and his lovely plumage, blood-stained 

 and torn, often marks out the presence of this aerial 

 pirate, and silently tells its own tale of death. But 

 birds are not the only creatures subject to the perse- 



