HAWKS 8 1 



Small birds are almost paralysed by the sudden appearance of a hawk, so that 

 they are struck down before they regain their senses. If there is no prey to be 

 found in the fields, the goshawk invades farm-yards and village gardens, and even 

 follows pigeons into their cotes, sometimes even breaking window-panes in order 

 to gain an entrance to take tame birds in their cages. When a hawk has dispersed 

 a flock of pigeons, it follows one particular bird which soon falls a victim. Even 

 the swiftest birds cannot escape into the bushes, for the hawk follows and drags 

 them from among the densest thickets and the sharpest thorns. Like the sparrow- 

 hawk, the goshawk dashes along the skirt of the forest, along fences and walls, 

 over low roofs and between buildings, and seizes its prey so suddenly that the 

 frightened animal is in its claws before there is time to scream. It catches birds, 

 whether on the wing or otherwise, with the utmost dexterity, dashing on them at 

 all angles, and turning over in the air with incredible swiftness in order that it 

 may seize its quarry from below. So much does its form blend with the atmosphere 

 in its terrific speed, that it is scarcely more visible than an arrow. A goshawk 

 usually kills its prey with its claws, which are stronger and sharper than those 

 of any other rapacious bird. Either it strikes its victim with both claws simultane- 

 ously, or, as in the case of smaller birds, with one claw alone. The larger birds 

 are borne to the ground and wounded and torn by its claws before they are carried 

 away. During the nesting-season everything it catches goes to the nest, but at 

 other times it tears its victim with its claws, never with its beak, and carries it 

 to some hiding-place where it can feast in peace. When all is eaten, the hawk 

 sits down, arches its back and puts its head between its shoulders ; yet even then 

 only the experienced shot can succeed in bagging it, for the goshawk has an innate 

 fear of man, and never perches where it can be seen from a distance. 



The goshawk can only be caught by traps and snares, the bait tempting its 

 voracity. Old birds never recover from the loss of their freedom, even if they are 

 caught by means of their young, of which they are first robbed, and then taken and 

 put into the same cage. When thus captured they behave as if mad, devouring their 

 young first, and then fighting with one another, when the female always gets the 

 better of her partner. In central Europe the goshawk is resident and partly 

 migratory, arriving in March and April, and leaving in September and October, 

 on its way to Africa. Its range extends over the temperate and northern countries 

 of Europe and northern Asia as far as Japan, although in some countries within 

 those limits the species is unknown. The goshawk is distinguished from the 

 peregrine by its short, rounded wings, and its mode of flying with its bill erect 

 and its neck between its shoulders ; its tail also seems much more pointed than 

 that of the peregrine, although this is not really the case. 



The sparrow-hawk (Accipiter nisus) is a small edition of the 

 Sparrow-Hawk. .... 



goshawk, quite as bold and dexterous in catching its prey, although 



being smaller and weaker, it hunts smaller birds, which regard it as their most 



formidable foe. This species nests in lonely and secluded spots, where it lays from 



four to five white eggs marked with reddish brown blotches. The haunt of the 



sparrow-hawk is in stretches of forest, or in patches of woodland adjoining 



meadows and arable land, near some village. It builds on pine-trees, choosing 



vol. i. — 6 



