138 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



be given a royal welcome/' With this I passed on. The 

 next time I saw him was two or three days later. He 

 was sitting on the very top of the old hickory tree where 

 he could easily see everything that moved for a long dis- 

 tance; but I had no misgivings, for I knew that the spar- 

 row hawk feeds largely on grasshoppers, beetles, and mice. 

 It would be a benefit to have him rear a family so near, for 

 he was sure to catch most of the mice that were living on 

 the poultry feed and perhaps a few that stayed around the 

 other buildings. I was sorry, however, that the nest was 

 so high and so far out on a dead limb that it would be im- 

 possible for me to climb to it with safety. 



The next time I noticed Fleetwing I was crossing the 

 garden when a song sparrow flew by as if its very life 

 depended on its speed, and truly it did, for just behind was 

 Fleetwing. He was flying perhaps four or five feet higher 

 than the sparrow and was gaining at every foot. I had no 

 idea a sparrow could fly so rapidly, but in spite of his best 

 efforts it looked as if he was doomed. There was a tree not 

 more than a hundred yards away and suddenly the spar- 

 row swerved from its course and flew directly toward this 

 tree. By making this shift she gained a few feet, but 

 quicker than I can tell it he had changed his direction also 

 and was again in full pursuit. The hawk was no more than 

 a rod behind the sparrow when it dashed into the tree and 

 the disappointed hawk swerved upward with a scream of 

 disappointment and flew back to the top of the hickory 

 tree. Then it became clear why Fleetwing occupied this 

 particular spot so much of the time. It was the highest 

 point near; no bird could fly across the pasture or garden 

 without being in sight, and he counted on being able to 

 catch it before it got across. 



