THROUGH THE WOODS. 113 



visit our islands in autumn from more northern 

 lands. The long ear-tufts, and streaked and 

 barred underparts, distinguish this Owl from its 

 British congeners. 



The woodland birds of prey are perhaps more 

 interesting to the observer, because their habits 

 are readily observed. Few are the woods indeed 

 that we can wander through, especially in spring, 

 without noticing the KESTREL (Falco tinnunculus], widely 



! . . r . ill i r i i distributed. 



hanging as if by an invisible thread from the sky. 

 The Kestrel is the commonest Hawk of the 

 country, and is constantly thrusting itself into 

 notice. He is easily recognised as he poises 

 aloft on widespread wings and tail, scanning the 

 earth below in quest of the mice and coleop- 

 terous insects on which he feeds. Then his un- 

 mistakable chattering cry is a familiar sound 

 to the walker in the woods during May. He is 

 now about to begin family duties, and he and his 

 mate are busy searching for some old deserted 

 Magpie's nest in which the hen-bird will soon lay 

 her half-dozen handsome reddish brown eggs. 

 All Kestrels' "nests" that I have examined 

 sooner or later contained great numbers of pellets 

 composed of the refuse of the food cast up by 

 the old birds ; and by examining them we may 

 easily convince ourselves of this Hawk's sovereign 

 usefulness to man. Each pellet contains the 

 bones and skins of several mice, and perhaps the 

 hard, indigestible wing-cases of certain beetles. 

 No more harmless bird frequents the woods, yet 

 it is shot and trapped without mercy by ignorant 

 gamekeepers. 



Very different, however, is the habit of the 

 SPARROW-HAWK (Accipiter nisus). He persecutes 



