HONEY-BUZZARD SPARROW-HAWK, 243 



LETTER XCIII. 



TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. 



A PAIR of honey-buzzards, buteo apivorus, sive ves2)worus 9 

 Raft, built them a large shallow nest, composed of twigs, and 

 lined with dead beechen leaves, upon a tall slender beech near 

 the middle of Selbome hanger, in the summer of 1 780. In the 

 middle of the month of June, a bold boy climbed this tree, 

 though standing on so steep and dizzy a situation, and brought 

 down an egg, the only one in the nest, which had been sat on 

 for some time, and contained the embryo of a young bird. The 

 egg was smaller, and not so round, as those of the common 

 buzzard ; was dotted at each end with small red spots, and 

 surrounded in the middle with a broad bloody zone. 



The hen bird was shot, and answered exactly to Mr Ray's 

 description of that species : had a black cere, short thick legs, 

 and a long tail. When on the wing, this species may be easily 

 distinguished from the common buzzard, by its hawk-like 

 appearance, small head, wings not so blunt, and longer tail. 

 This specimen contained in its craw some limbs of frogs, and 

 many gray snails without shells. The irides of the eyes of this 

 bird were of a beautiful bright yellow colour. 



About the tenth of July, in the same summer, a pair of 

 sparrow-hawks bred in an old crow's nest on a low beech in 

 the same hanger ;* and as their brood, which was numerous, 

 began to grow up, became so daring and ravenous, that they 

 were a terror to all the dames in the village that had chickens 

 or ducklings under their care. A boy climbed the tree, and 

 found the young so fledged that they all escaped from him ; 

 but discovered that a good house had been kept ; the larder 

 was well stored with provisions ; for he brought down a young 

 blackbird, jay, and house-marten, all clean picked, and some 



* Professor Rennie says, " Although I have known this bird frequently 

 take possession of the abandoned nest of a crow or a magpie, without 

 making any additional repairs, I have also known it breed in the holes of 

 precipitous rocks, as at Howford, near 'Mauchline, in Ayrshire, and 

 Cartlan Crags, near Lanark." 



The sparrow-hawk is a bold, audacious bird, and builds frequently in 

 the most frequented situations. Some years ago, when on a visit to Lord 

 Douglas, at Douglas Castle, Lanarkshire, we discovered a nest close to 

 the approach, and not far distant from the east gate. We were desirous 

 to possess the birds, and his lordship gave orders to the gamekeeper to 

 ehoot them, but he only killed the female. ED. 



