8 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX. 



four on the wing at once. The food of this bird 

 appears to be chiefly field-mice (Mm sylvaticus and 

 Arvicola agrestis), grasshoppers, and beetles. Occa- 

 sionally, too, it will eat carrion ; and it is to be 

 regretted that farmers and keepers take every 

 opportunity of shooting or trapping the Kestrel, 

 under the mistaken notion that it is destructive 

 to game and poultry, for it is in reality a most 

 useful bird. 



SPARROWHAWK, Falco nisus. Formerly common 

 in Caen Wood, Hampstead, and in the woods near 

 Edgewarebury, Stanrnore, and Pinner. It is still 

 to be seen occasionally, but this species is gradually 

 becoming scarcer, owing to the persecution w r hich 

 it meets with on all sides.* 



It has been doubted whether the female Sparrow- 

 hawk ever has a slaty -blue back like the adult 

 male. That this is the case with this species, as 

 well as with the Hobby,! I have little doubt. 

 Mr. Bond informs me that he has more than once 

 shot a Sparrowhawk in the male plumage, which 



* Unfortunately this is not the only bird that is 

 becoming scarce here ; for, under the mistaken notion 

 that they do more harm than good, not only hawks and 

 owls, but crows, magpies, jays, and even woodpeckers, 

 and many other of our handsomest British birds, are 

 alike shot down indiscriminately, and nailed against a 

 tree or barn to rot. 

 | See ante, p. 4. 



