SPARROW HAWK. 



227 



in our part of the world Hampshire the Kestrel is 

 certainly more frequently met with. Possibly this is 

 because the Sparrow Hawk, so universally recognised 

 as a thief and a robber, enjoys the unenviable distinc- 

 tion of being the only bird of prey in the New Forest 

 to whom protection is not afforded. Nevertheless we 

 frequently have observed the Sparrow Hawk and its 



SPARROW HAWK. 



nest, and in all the woods and forests of Great Britain 

 and Ireland it is still to be met with in comparative 

 abundance. 



The female Sparrow Hawk, as with all the raptorial 

 birds, is much bigger than the male and is exceedingly 

 courageous ; of its own accord it has been known to 

 attack a Heron, But its usual food consists of smaller 



