FALCO NISSUS. 99 



moralists take a lesson, and sentiment pause before it condemns. 

 Birds of prey, like natural storms, war, and disease in " Life's 

 fitful fever," are part of Nature's great design, beyond our reach 

 to grasp. An eye-witness says : — 



"I saw a singular occurrence between a sparrow-hawk and a hen — the 

 mother of a brood of chickens. Her happiness was suddenly disturbed by 

 that enemy of the hencoop, the bloodthirsty sparrow-hawk. It is a fact 

 that the ardour of this bird is so great that all its faculties are absorbed, and 

 heedless of everything but the prey it is trying to capture. Be that as it 

 may, the extreme audacity of this hawk may be imagined, when I say it 

 swooped down and selected a victim from the brood before my eyes, and 

 bore it off to a neighbouring elm tree. But much as we admire the head- 

 long courage of this little handsome thief, our admiration must be increased 

 for the hen, for, without a moment's hesitation she flew after the hawk, to 

 rescue her chicken from the clutch of its enemy ;the onslaught was so 

 sudden and furious that the hawk dropped the chick, which fell to the 

 ground not much injured. The heroic mother soon smoothed her child, and 

 if gratitude forms part of fowl life, that chicken would be grateful to its 

 mother for rescuing it from the very jaws of death." 



The hen was a better protector to her chicken than Shakespeare 

 says the Duke of Gloster was to the young King : — 



York — " Wer't not all one, an empty eagle were set 

 To guard the chicken from a hungry kite, 

 As place Duke H umphrey for the King's protector ? 

 So the poor chicken should be sure of death." — Henry VI. 



The sparrow-hawk is common here, frequenting the lower 

 grounds skirting plantations. Small birds of all kinds are its 

 prey, from the golden-crested wren to the blackbird ; while the 

 female, from its greater size, attacks lapwings, snipes, pigeons and 

 partridges, which she strikes as she skims over the fields ; 

 chickens, ducklings, leverets, and young rabbits are also set 

 down in its bill of fare, in search of which it flies low, and 

 skims with great speed, pouncing on its prey with unerring aim. 

 It makes its shallow nest on low as well as high trees, generally 

 spruce and Scotch firs, of slender twigs, very like the cushat's, 

 with generally a few chips of Scotch fir bark in the centre. It 

 is said to occupy the deserted nest of a crow or wood pigeon, 

 but I never found this, and I have climbed up to many nests. My 

 experience is, that it makes its own flimsy nest, although some- 

 times framed on the top of an old wood pigeon's or filled-up 

 carrion crow's. It begins to lay about the middle of May, 

 usually five eggs. Every schoolboy knows the colour — a bluish 

 white ground, blotched with dark brown at the largest end, 

 sometimes with a brown ring, and sometimes blotched or spotted 

 all over. One I have is pale bluish-white, streaked with very 



