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THE GOSHAWK. 



THE GOSHAWK (falco palumbarius) is, after the golden 

 eagle, the boldest and the most destructive of the British 

 birds of prey ; and, like that bird, it is much more fre- 

 quently seen in Scotland than in England. It does not, 

 indeed, appear that it ever bred in England, though 

 its nest has been often found in Scotland. Like the 

 eagle, the goshawk does not stoop to ignoble quarry, 

 and therefore the smaller birds are safe from it ; but it 

 pursues the larger ones with great activity. The female 

 goshawk is about two feet in length, and five in the ex- 

 pansion of the wings ; and the male about a third less 

 in each dimension. The goshawk builds its nest indis- 

 criminately, on the tops of lofty trees or in the clefts of 

 rocks ; but it always chooses a situation which, while it 



