110 SPARROW-HAWK. 



privateer against every thing that sails in its way a modern 

 specimen of 'Sir Andrew Barton, Knight.' It will fearlessly 

 attack in the most pugnacious manner even the monarch of 

 the air the Grolden Eagle, and has been known so far to obtain 

 the mastery, as to make him drop a grouse which he had made 

 a prize of: one has been seen after a first buffet, to turn 

 again and repeab the insult; and another dashed in the same 

 way at a tame Sea Eagle of R. Langtry, Esq., of Fortwilliam, 

 near Belfast. 



The Sparrow-Hawk occasionally perches on some projection 

 or eminence of earth, stone, or tree, from whence it looks out 

 for prey. If successful in the ken, it darts suddenly off; or 

 if otherwise, launches into the air more leisurely. When 

 prowling on the wing, it sweeps along, apparently with no 

 exertion, swiftly, but gently and stealthily, at one moment 

 gliding without motion of the wings, and then seeming to 

 acquire an impetus for itself by napping them; every obstacle 

 in the way being avoided with the most certain discrimination, 

 or surmounted with an aerial bound. Sometimes for a few 

 moments it hovers over a spot, and after flying on a hundred 

 yards or so, repeats the same action, almost motionless in the 

 air. Its flight is at times exceedingly rapid, and it was 

 formerly employed in the art of falconry, for hunting par- 

 tridges, landrails, and quails. It often flies late in the evening. 

 'During the course,' says Sir William Jardine, 'some stone, 

 stake, or eminence is often selected for a temporary rest; the 

 station is taken up with the utmost lightness the wings 

 closed with a peculiar quiver of the tail, and the attitude 

 assumed very nearly perpendicular, when it often remains a 

 few minutes motionless; the flight is again resumed with as 

 little preparatory movement as it was suspended.' It takes 

 its prey both in the air and on the ground, but so great 

 is the celerity of its flight, that a spectator sometimes cannot 

 tell whether it has seized it on the latter or in the former 

 element. 



Unlike the Kestrel, which has a predilection for quadrupeds, 

 the food of this species consists principally of the smaller 

 birds, and some that are larger snipes, larks, jays, blackbirds, 

 swallows, sparrows, lapwings, buntings, pigeons, partridges, 

 thrushes, pipits, linnets, yellow-hammers, bullfinches, finches, 

 as also, occasionally, mice, cockchaffers and other beetles, 

 grasshoppers, and even sometimes when in captivity, its own 

 species: small birds are devoured whole, even legs and all; 



