VERMIN 201 



A third writer 1 describes the sparrow- 

 hawk as " one of the most numerous and 

 destructive of our hawks." 



Now the universal habit is to condemn 

 sparrow-hawks unheard, and class them 

 with the worst of vermin ; nor would it 

 be an easy matter to induce a gamekeeper 

 to stay his hand when there is a nest of 

 blue hawks on his ground. The utmost 

 we could hope to do would be to persuade 

 gamekeepers to accept nothing but the 

 evidence of their own eyes, and to prove 

 to their own satisfaction that such damage 

 as is wrought to the game is the work of 

 the species in general, and not of isolated 

 individuals, before they condemn the 

 whole race. In this context it would 

 be very useful if keepers could be induced 

 to examine the contents of the stomach 

 and crop of all the predatory birds that 

 they kill, and keep notes of the result 

 for future guidance. 



The useful work of kestrels has at last 

 received tardy recognition, and few con- 



1 Mr. Carnegie, Practical Game-Preserving, 1906. 



