The Bird Book 



which hunts in a very different way. It sits on 

 some exposed branch from which it can readily 

 observe and sail down on its prey, or it glides 

 along a hedgerow, skimming over the top when 

 it reaches the end, then tries another, hoping to 

 pick up some small bird that has the temerity to sit 

 on the outermost branches. The Sparrow Hawk 

 belongs to the so-called "ignoble" section of its 

 tribe, for its wings are blunt, and it has, there- 

 fore, no powers of speed to enable it to give chase 

 as do the Peregrine and the Merlin. Notwith- 

 standing this, it is for its size one of the boldest 

 of birds, and does not hesitate, when hungry, to 

 enter a farmyard and carry off a young chicken. 

 Certainly the gamekeeper has more justification 

 for the war he wages on it than for his persecu- 

 tion of the Owl, for the coveys of young par- 

 tridges and grouse, and even the young pheasants 

 more directly under his care doubtless contribute 

 towards the support of the Sparrow Hawk's 

 family. 



The mention of the Partridge brings us to those 

 birds that may more truly be termed the residents 

 of the field. Probably the Partridge is known to 

 most people chiefly from its dinner-table aspect, or 

 from the sportsman's point of view, but this must 

 not concern us here. Unlike its more brilliant 

 polygamous relative, the Pheasant, this bird has a 

 distinct family life, until September 1st. The 

 Pheasant is a notoriously bad parent and the keeper 

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