110 THE SPARROW-HAWK 



the drawing-room window, and out at the other end of the house 

 through another window, and never slackened his pursuit, notwith- 

 standing the clattering of the broken glass of the two windows they 

 passed through. But the most extraordinary instance of impudence 

 in this bird that I ever met with was one day finding a sparrow-hawk 

 deliberately standing on a very large pouter pigeon on the drawing- 

 room floor, and plucking it, having entered in pursuit of the un- 

 fortunate bird through the open window, and killed him in the 

 room. 



Seebohm asserts that the sparrow-hawk is fond of hawking at 

 dusk, while Ussher and Warren, 1 on the other hand, make a point 

 of the bird's inability to see well in the fading light, and we share 

 their views. 



Of the courting habits of the sparrow-hawk we know nothing, 

 but both Naumann and Seebohm remark that the male, while his 

 mate is sitting, will ascend to an immense height and soar above 

 the nest. From Naumann's remarks it would seem as if these 

 soaring flights were also part of a kind of courting display, since he 

 says that when thus aloft he gives voice to a silvery " kick, kick, kick" 

 remarking that it must be a " pairing" cry, since it is most frequently 

 heard in spring. 



Till recently there was a curious diversity of opinion as to whether 

 the sparrow-hawk builds a nest, or adapts that of a crow, or some 

 similar platform, but closer observation, as may have been noticed in 

 Mr. Jourdain's notes, shows that the older authors had imperfectly 

 interpreted the facts. 



Both sexes, according to Seebohm, take part in incubation, but 

 the evidence seems to show that this duty is undertaken by the 

 female only, who is fed during this time by her mate. He also 

 provides food for the family, at any rate until they are fledged. 

 Commonly he summons his mate to relieve him of his spoils by loud 

 cries. She then flies out to meet him, and takes the quarry in mid- 



1 Birds of Ireland, p. 133. 



