THE KESTREL. 



301 



which time the males assume their peculiar coloring, and the females 

 retain the same tints. 



The common Kestrel is one of the most familiar of the British 

 hawks, being seen in almost every part of the country where a mouse, 

 a lizard, or a beetle may be found. 



It may easily be distinguished while on the wing from any other 

 hawk by the peculiar manner in which it remains poised in air in a 

 single spot, its head invari- 

 ably pointing toward the 

 wind, its tail spread, and its 

 wings widely extended, almost 

 as if it were a toy kite raised 

 in the air by artificial means, 

 and preserved in the same 

 spot by the trammels of a 

 string. While hanging thus 

 strangely suspended in the 

 air, its head is bent down- 

 ward, and its keen eyes glance 

 restlessly in every direction, 

 watching every blade of grass 

 beneath its ken, and shooting 

 down with unerring certainty 

 of aim upon any unhappy 

 field-riiouse that may be fool- 

 ish enough to poke his red 

 face out of his hole while the 



Kestrel is on the watch. rr^ ^ ,r^ ,>,,,. x 



rr«i u X? XX ^^ • The Kestrel (Tinnunctdm Ahmdarius). 



ihe number or neld-mice ^ ^ 



consumed by this hawk is very great, for it is hardly possible to open 

 the stomach of a Kestrel without finding the remains of one or more 

 of these destructive little animals. On account of its mouse-eating 

 propensities, the Kestrel is a most useful bird to the farmer, who in 

 his ignorance confounds all hawks together, and now shoots the Kes- 

 trel which catches mice because kites used formerly to steal chickens. 



In the use of its claws the Kestrel is remarkably quick and ready, 

 and, being also a swift-winged bird, it is in the habit of chasing cock- 

 chafers and other large beetles on the wing, and catching them neatly 

 with its claws as it shoots past their course. Without pausing in its 

 flight, the bird transfers the insect from the foot to the mouth, and eats 

 it without taking the trouble to alight. With such eagerness does it 

 pursue this kind of prey — which we may suppose to be taken as a des- 

 sert after a more substantial meal upon mouse-flesh — that it continues 

 its chase far into the evening, and may be seen in hot pursuit of the 

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