BIRDS. 339 



The Gos-hawk (Astur palumbarius) is equal in size to the 

 largest of the Falcons. Its flight is low, and it was formerly 

 flown at Hares, Rabbits, Grouse, and Partridges. Its prevailing 

 tint is greyish; hence the line in one of the Border Ballads: 



" The boy stared wild, like a grey Gos-hawk." FAUSE FOODRAGE. 



The Sparrow-hawk (Accipiter fringittarius) has been well 

 characterised by Mr. St. John as a "bold little freebooter,' 7 

 and he thus records examples of its audacity: "A Sparrow- 

 hawk pursued a Pigeon through the drawing-room window, 

 and out at the other end of the house through another window, 

 and never slackened his pursuit, notwithstanding the clattering 

 of the broken glass of the two windows they passed through. 

 But the most extraordinary instance of impudence in this bird 

 that I ever met with, was one day finding a large Sparrow- 

 hawk deliberately standing on a very large Pouter-pigeon, on 

 the drawing-room floor, and plucking it, having entered in 

 pursuit of the unfortunate bird through an open window, and 

 killed him in the room."^ 1 



The Kite (Milvus 

 ictinus, Fig. 261) 

 "is readily distin- 

 guished among the 

 British Falconidce, 

 even when at a dis- 

 tance on the wing, by 

 its long and forked 

 tail, ' ' and by its easy 



-,' P J , n- i / Fig- 261. -KITE. 



and graceful night. 



"It has now become comparatively rare in England, "f In 

 Ireland, according to Mr. Thompson, the bird is extremely 

 rare, though the name is applied to other species of the family, 

 and particularly to the Common Buzzard (Buteo vulgar is). 

 The Honey Buzzard, a native of the south of Europe, and of 

 eastern climes, has been shot on several occasions in England, 

 and has, in one instance, occurred in the vicinity of Belfast .f 

 The Harriers form the remaining group of "the Falcon 

 family.'* One of them, the Hen-Harrier, is a most skilful 

 rat-catcher. "Skimming silently and rapidly through a rick- 

 yard, he seizes on any incautious Rat that may be exposed 



* Wild Sports and Natural History of the Highlands. 



f Yarrell. 



J Thompson. 



