BIRD-LIFE OF THE WOODS AND GROVES. 159 



cliffs and some of the least frequented parts 

 of the moors. Occasionally we see this species 

 on the lowlands near the coast, soaring in its 

 very characteristic way. The Sparrowhawk and 

 the Kestrel are the two commonest raptorial 

 birds of the woods and groves, the former perhaps 

 being the most abundant in many districts. In 

 our own immediate neighbourhood, however, we 

 should class the Kestrel as the commonest, and 

 in addition to the woods it breeds in great 

 numbers on the cliffs along the coast. But more 

 of that anon. Although this bold Hawk is 

 particularly partial to fir woods using them as 

 a roosting place and a breeding station it is by 

 no means unfrequently seen amongst deciduous 

 trees, especially in localities where hedgerows 

 and underwood afford shelter for plenty of 

 small birds. The comparative abundance of the 

 Sparrowhawk in the county, we are convinced, 

 is due to the lax methods of game preserving ; 

 once let these conditions change, and the keeper 

 would soon lessen its numbers to the vanishing 

 point, as he has already done in so many other 

 counties sacred to the game fetish. The graceful 

 Kestrel is comparatively harmless, yet we fear 



