SPARROWHAWK. 65 



LETTER VI. 



" The thieves have bound the true men : Now could thou 

 and I rob the thieves .' "KING HENRT IV. 



The Sparrowhawk pre-eminently a Bird-destroyer Adap- 

 tation of Structure to Habits Separation of the Sexes 

 during Winter Recklessness when in pursuit of its 

 Prey Anecdote Injurious to feathered Game 

 in the Breeding-season Remarkable Instance of 

 Voracity A Family of Poachers Their depredations 

 Capture of the Gang. 



As the windhover is the most insectivorous, 

 harmless, and even useful of our native Falconidae, 

 so the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) in propor- 

 tion to its size and powers, is the most carnivorous 

 of the family. Unlike the kestrel, it prefers birds 

 to quadrupeds, and from its great courage and 

 audacity, as well as a silent and stealthy mode of 

 approaching its unsuspecting victims, its depreda- 

 tions among the feathered tribes far exceed those 

 of any of our raptorial birds. By the way, the 

 form of the foot and length of the toes appear to 

 furnish a tolerable indication of the characteristic 

 propensities of several species in this family, 



