37 



GOSHAWK. 



PLATE XVIII. 



Aster palumbarius, SELBT. GOULD. 



Falco palumbarius, PENNANT. 



Suteo palumbarius, FLEMING. 



Accipiter palumbarius, JENTNS. 



THE nest of the Goshawk is said to be built in tall fir or other 

 trees, near the trunk, and to be large in size, flat in shape, and 

 composed of sticks, grass, and moss, loosely put together; probably 

 the coarser materials are most made use of. 



This bird, like others of its tribe, is believed to be frequently in 

 the habit of occupying the same nest for several years in succession, 

 making the necessary repairs from time to time. Though reckoned 

 among the ignoble Falcons, as a short-winged species, yet its great 

 power and strength must doubtless give it a secure occupancy of 

 its stronghold, safe against all hostile intruders of its own the 

 feathered kind. Its motto might well be, 



'Who checks at me, to death is dight.' 



Mr. Hewitson says that the nest f is placed in some high tree in 

 the interior of the woodland, except in those parts which are cleared, 

 and free from timber/ 



During the time that the female is sitting, she is fed by the 

 male. 



The eggs, which are hatched about the middle of May, after an 

 incubation of about three weeks, are said to be from two to five 

 in number. They are greenish or bluish white, often with, and 

 sometimes without, or nearly without, a few streaks or spots of 



