( 154 ) 

 FEEDING-HABITS OF THE SPARROW-HAWK. 



BY 



W. FARREX. 



During July, 1914, I spent some time watching, at 

 close quarters, the nest of a Sparrow-Hawk {Accipiter 

 71. nisus) in which five young \xeve being reared. The 

 nest was about twenty-five feet high in the brandies 

 of an apple-tree in an orchard, north of Cambridge. 

 It was built entirely by the Sparrow-Hawks, there 

 being no fomidation in the form of an old nest of Wood- 

 Pigeon or other bird. I saw it first on June 6tli, when 

 it contained five eggs. While examining the nest on 

 June 17th, I discovered Wo eggs — m addition to the 

 five in the nest^ — among the sticks near the bottom of 

 the nest. These I removed. There ^vas no sign of 

 incubation, and it is probable that they had been laid 

 during the early stages of building and buried by 

 subsequent additions to the nest. On the evening of 

 the 25th the nest contained four newly-hatched yomig 

 and one egg chipping. On the 28tli I commenced the 

 buildino; of a hut in the branches on a level with the 

 nest, from -svliich I could watch and photograph the 

 birds. On July 5th I completed my hut, the front of 

 wliich was about eight feet from the nest. 



I spent three hours in the hut on July 8th, and paid 

 fairly regular visits from then to July 22nd. On no 

 occasion did I see a game bird brought to the nest, 

 nor any sign of one having been brought. ^Vhile tliis 

 corroborates the experience of Dr. Penrose {antea, p. 99) 

 and of Mr. Heatley Noble {antea, p. 119), it must be 

 remembered that my nest was not m a game country. 

 The series of orchards in \\iiich it was situated are fiiU 

 of Blackbirds, Thrushes, Warblers and other small 

 birds, and my owti experience is that both Kestrels 

 and Sparrow-Hawks prey chiefly on the birds most 

 easily procurable in their immediate neighbourhoods. 



