VOL. vra.] NOTES. 99 



On June 24th, 1914, whilst lunching on the Downs some 

 few miles south of SaUsbury in the shade of a belt of fir- 

 trees in company with my keeper J. H. Copsey and another 

 companion, we heard a Hawk calling, at first far away, then 

 nearer. On our getting up, a cock Sparrow-Hawk rose out 

 of the wood about a hundred yards away and disappeared 

 over the wood. 



Copsey found the nest quite close to us and we could see 

 that there were some young birds in down sitting on its edge. 

 Wliilst examining the nest from belo\\' with glasses, the hen 

 soared above us over the tops of the fir-trees and then flew 

 away in the direction in which the male had gone. 



On investigating a little further, we found a fallen tree 

 trunk, some eighty yards north of the nest and quite close 

 to the spot above which we had first seen the male bird. 

 This trunk was evidently used as a dressing -block on which 

 to pluck and trim the food, as on each side of it the ground 

 was thickly strewn with the feathers of small birds. 



We then hid ourselves. After a very short time the 

 hen bird returned to the wood, and after dodging about from 

 one tree to another finally took up her station close to the 

 nest. In about t^\enty to thirty minutes the cock bird 

 retmned carrying a smaU bird in one of his feet. He settled 

 on a tree not far from the dressing-block, but shghtly nearer 

 to the nest, and called to the hen once or twice. She however 

 did not move nor did she ansA\'er him. After a few moments 

 I am afraid the cock must have seen me as he flew out of 

 the wood, carrying the small bhd with him. We hid and 

 watched again but nothing of interest occurred and I had 

 then to leave. 



Copsey Aviote to me a week later as follows : " Now I must 

 say a bit about the Hawks. I had the afternoon of the 

 30th June with them. They had a Lark laid at the dressing- 

 block, that you saw, ready dressed — all but one wing. I kept 

 hid for three hours. The cock came and brought a Lark 

 close to me. He took it to three different blocks to finish 

 dressing it and when he had finished he had plucked every 

 feather of the bird, I think, for he was most careful. The 

 hen bird watched all the time. The cock then took the 

 bird close to the hen, say on a bough about fom- feet from 

 where the hen sat all the time. She made a screeching note 

 to him. The cock then flew straight to the nest with the 

 bird in his feet, and left it on the edge of the nest. The 

 young took no notice of him. He then flew straight away 

 up the wood as [if] off for another bird for them. The hen 



