70 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES. 



ing at the slaughter of the barley-fed victims of a 

 battue. I was endeavouring, as I said, to encou- 

 rage this species of game in my neighbourhood, 

 having due regard at the same time to the welfare 

 of my friends the kestrel and the jay, much to the 

 disgust of my keeper a thorough bred "varmint"- 

 killer who made his appearance one morning in 

 a state of considerable excitement, his counte- 

 nance presenting an expression of horror and in- 

 dignation, through which, however, I could detect 

 a smile of secret satisfaction when he informed 

 me that a hawk with an emphasis on the hated 

 monosyllable had carried off several young phea- 

 sants from the coops on the lawn but here let 

 the journal speak for itself. 



"June 23, 1842. Denyer the keeper has just 

 come up to the house, to tell me that during the 

 last two days he has missed several of the young 

 pheasants. He went at daybreak this morning to 

 the coops, in the neighbourhood of which he lay 

 concealed. Soon afterwards a loud screaming and 

 cackling among the hens announced the arrival of 

 an enemy, and by the time that D. had emerged 

 from his hut of oak boughs, gun in hand, he had 

 the mortification of seeing a hawk, out of shot, 

 carrying off one of the young pheasants in its 

 claws. I have no doubt that the thief is a spar- 

 rowhawk, and that unless we can extirpate the 



