126 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



truders on the general joy of the landscape." I have 

 found the remains of over twenty young pheasants at 

 the nest of a sparrow-hawk, and have frequently seen 

 him carrying off blackbirds and thrushes, it being 

 painful to hear the piteous screams of the victims as 

 they were borne off in the cruel talons of the hawk. 

 It will thus be seen that the successful rearing of game 

 is impossible when this bird is allowed to exist. The 

 vigilance of the keeper is therefore necessary to find 

 out the nesting-place, and when this is accomplished 

 the destruction of the pair of birds is a simple matter. 

 To put the hen bird off the nest, then conceal oneself 

 within range and shoot her as she returns, is the 

 general mode of procedure. If this can be done at 

 night, so much the better, as by being in concealment 

 before daylight the following morning the cock bird 

 will make his appearance, generally affording an easy 

 shot. Many prefer to trap the cock bird on the nest, 

 which is easily done. On dissecting the last sparrow- 

 hawk I shot, the crop was found to contain the entire 

 wing and other parts of a young grouse, while in the 

 gizzard were the remains of small birds and other 

 matter partly assimilated. 



Though this hawk skims along and seizes birds as 

 above described, it also lifts its quarry from the ground, 

 but, with the exception of carrying off young pheasants 

 in the rearing-field, it is seldom seen in the act. I 

 have, however, witnessed it strike down a wood-pigeon 

 after the manner of a falcon. In this instance the 



