THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 
seize some unsuspecting small bird sitting quietly on a 
spray, or as suddenly drop to the ground and strike a 
terror-stricken victim there. ‘This Hawk is the terror of 
the countryside, the dread of all the smaller birds, and 
the captor of many species much larger and heavier than 
itself. Frogs, field-mice, rats, and young rabbits are also 
taken. ‘The Sparrow-Hawk always builds its own nest—a 
large, flat structure, usually placed on a branch close to 
the trunk in a tall tree, a fir or pine for preference, and 
made of sticks, some of them with green buds attached. 
Here in April or May the female lays four to six very 
pretty eggs, pale greenish blue, handsomely splashed and 
spotted with reddish brown, pale brown, and grey. Very 
often these markings chiefly form an irregular zone round 
one end. Both parents incubate, and when the young 
are hatched the old birds become even more rapacious, 
ceaseless in their hunting for prey. ‘The female especially 
sits very closely, often remaining on the nest until the 
climber reaches it. She is also very bold in its defence, 
swooping past the intruder’s head, whilst the male, high 
in the air above, sails round and round in circles anxiously 
awaiting events. 
The male Sparrow-Hawk is dark slate-grey above, 
with a white patch on the nape; the wings and tail are 
brown, the latter barred with darker brown ; the under 
parts are rufous brown, palest on the throat and under 
tail-coverts, barred with a darker tint of thesame. The 
female, which is nearly twice the size, has the upper 
parts brown, relieved with a similar pale nuchal patch, 
and the under parts greyish white barred with brown. 
The young in first plumage vary considerably in colour 
even in the same nest, but resemble the female in a 
general way, although the upper parts are marked with 
reddish brown. Bill bluish horn; cere, tarsi, and toes 
yellow ; claws black ; irides yellow. Length of adult male 
about 13 inches; adult females 2 to 3 inches longer. 
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