Robbers of the Air 



ing-house. Some years ago a gentleman sitting quietly 

 in a London and North Western train was suddenly 

 startled by one flying through the window of his 

 compartment after a small bird which it was intently 

 pursuing. The winged murderer's long, hooked claws 

 became inextricably entangled in the meshes of the 

 hat-rack, and he was ignominiously slain with an 

 umbrella and afterwards stuffed as a memento of a very 

 unusual incident. 



In the case of a pair of birds of the species under 

 consideration, which I studied all day and every day 

 for a whole week, the male did all the foraging, whilst 

 the female hung round to receive the spoils and attend 

 to the administrative part of the household work. 

 Occasionally the former came and made a critical 

 survey of the family of down-clad chicks, but never once 

 did I see him bring any food right up to the nest or 

 attempt to administer anything that happened to be 

 lying there. Although the birds were breeding close to 

 a grouse moor never a poult figured in the menu young 

 snipe, dunlin, pipits and wagtails appeared to form the 

 staple diet of the young sparrow-hawks. 



The merlin, which is only about the size of a missel 

 thrush, is the smallest and probably most courageous 

 member of the falcon family inhabiting the British 

 Islands. Like the sparrow-hawk, this species preys 

 extensively upon small birds. It is so bold and power- 

 ful for its size that it will pursue and kill birds more 

 than double its own weight. 



A few years ago an Irish sportsman whilst out snipe 



P 37 



