n 4 THE BIRDS OF OUR RAMBLES. 



the small birds incessantly, and even levies toll 

 upon the young Pheasants and Partridges. The 

 Sparrow- Hawk is a warrior bird, famous for his 

 dash and daring, the terror of the woods and fields, 

 and though of short and rounded wing is capable 

 of flying like an arrow from a bow after his 

 quarry. He is never seen to poise and hover 

 like the Kestrel ; he sights his victim and flies it 

 down at once. The Sparrow- Hawk breeds rather 

 earlier than the Kestrel, and, unlike that bird, 

 always makes its own nest, which is usually placed 

 far up some forest tree, a platform of sticks, 

 slightly hollowed in the centre, and with no lining 

 save a scrap or two of bark, and perhaps a few 

 bits of down. The four or five eggs are re- 

 markably beautiful, being pale greenish blue in 

 ground colour, boldly splashed and spotted with 

 brown. In some of the extensive forests in 

 the northern parts of Scotland and on the 

 Scotland Welsh cliffs the COMMON BUZZARD (Buteo vul- 

 garis) still breeds. I have seen its big nest in 

 the crowns of the pine-trees ; and from what I 

 have observed the same place is visited annually, 

 so that we may infer this species pairs for life. 

 The nest is made of sticks, those in the lining 

 often with leaves upon them (as is the case with 

 the nest of the Sparrow-Hawk), and is very 

 similar to that of the preceding species, only 

 larger. The eggs, laid towards the end of April 

 or early in May, are three or four in number, and 

 vary from reddish to bluish white in ground 

 colour, blotched, spotted, and mottled with reddish 

 brown and pale gray. The food of this bird 

 consists of small animals, such as mice and moles, 

 small birds, coleopterous insects and frogs. Its 



