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kindness, lie so far overcame the natural disposition of this 

 Hawk, that in time it formed a friendship with the pigeons, 

 and associated with them. At first the pigeons were rather 

 shy of meeting their natural enemy on such an occasion, but 

 they soon became familiarized, and approached without fear. 

 It was curious to observe the playfulness of the Hawk, and 

 his perfect good humour during the feeding time; for he 

 received his portion without any of that ferocity with which 

 birds of prey usually take their food, and merely uttered a 

 cry of lamentation when disappointed of his morsel. When 

 the feast was over, he would attend the pigeons in their 

 flight round and round the house and gardens, and perch 

 with them on the chimney-top or roof of the house; and 

 this voyage he never failed to take early every morning, when 

 the pigeons took their exercise. At night he retired and 

 roosted with them in the dove-cote, and though for some 

 days after his first appearance he had it all to himself, the 

 pigeons not liking such an intruder, they shortly became good 

 friends, and he was never known to touch even a young one, 

 unfledged, helpless, and tempting as they must have been. 

 He seemed quite unhappy at any separation from them, and 

 when purposely confined in another abode, he constantly uttered 

 most melancholy cries, which were changed to tones of joy 

 and satisfaction on the appearance of any person with whom 

 he was familiar. The narrator of the above concludes his 

 account by adding, that he was as playful as a kitten, and 

 as loving as a dove.' Meyer records an instance near Wey- 

 bridge, of a pair of wood-pigeons building their nest and 

 rearing their young in a cedar tree, which was at the same 

 time the 'locale' of a pair of Sparrow-Hawks. 



Before the nest is begun to be built, and while it is building, 

 the birds may be seen soaring, though not very high, over 

 the eyrie, and darting and diving about. "When first the 

 female begins to sit, she is shy, but becomes by degrees more 

 assiduous in her task. The male does not watch, nor does 

 either bird display the emotions evinced by the true Falcons 

 in the care of their nest. When the young aro hatched, 

 rather more anxiety is depicted, and much courage shewn, at 

 least in the case of the female, the male flying off from an 

 enemy; and one instance is recorded of a female dashing at 

 an intruder and knocking off his cap. A male has been 

 known to feed the young for eight days after his partner 

 had been captured, and as it would seem, by dropping the 



