122 NATURAL HISTORY SKETCHES. 



upper plumage light blue ; the under parts barred and 

 striped with a reddish tinge ; the eye bright yellow. It 

 was not very common ; was swifter on the wing than any 

 of the other hawks ; and I generally used to find them in 

 the end of summer, dashing down the creeks, I suppose 

 after the ducks. 



The Australian Kestrel something resembled the female 

 kestrel at home, and the sexes did not differ in plumage ; 

 it was, however, rather smaller ; it was common with us 

 during the quail season, and generally to be seen in 

 pairs, beating or hovering over the plains, after the 

 manner of the British bird, or perched on a dead tree, 

 apparently watching the shooter. 



"We had a very pretty variety of kestrel, which we 

 called the Little White Hawk, rather larger and thicker 

 than the common kestrel, which it much resembled in 

 habits ; it was, however, more common with us, and I 

 used always to find them beating over the swamps and 

 low marshy ground, and I fancy their principal food was 

 reptiles and snipe. The wings and back of this bird were 

 deep slate-blue ; the under parts pure white ; the eye 

 red ; cere and legs yellow. It was an elegant-looking 

 bird, and we generally saw two or three together. They 

 bred in our neighbourhood, the young birds of the year 

 prettily mottled, chestnut, red, and white. They left us 

 late in the autumn for a short period. 



The White Goshawk is by far the chastest in appear- 

 ance of all the Australian hawks ; about the size of the 

 European goshawk, but more slender in shape; the 



