68 FALCONIDA. 
the Goshawk last described, and has been aptly termed a 
Goshawk in miniature. It has, however, been separated 
from the Goshawk generically, on account of the tarsi and 
toes being long and slender; and the term Accipiter, ori- 
ginally bestowed upon it by our countryman and naturalist 
Ray, has been restored to it. In most of the wooded 
districts the Sparrow-Hawk is a common and well-known 
species; bold, active, vigilant and destructive, a danger- 
ous enemy to small quadrupeds and young birds, upon 
which they subsist, and are so daring during the season in 
which their own nestlings require to be provided with food, 
as frequently to venture among the out-buildings of the 
farmhouse, where they have been observed to fly low, 
skim over the poultry-yard, snatch up a Chick, and get 
off with it in an instant. 
In reference to the capabilities of this species for hawk- 
ing, Sir John Sebright says, that he “once took a Par- 
tridge with a Sparrow-Hawk of his own breaking, ten 
days after he had been taken wild from a wood. These 
Hawks must be kept in high condition, and cannot fly 
when there is the least wind: they are upon the whole 
more difficult to manage than strong birds. The flight of 
the Sparrow-Hawk is rapid for a short distance: he will 
take Partridges at the beginning of the season, and is the 
best of all the Hawks for Landrails.” 
Mr. Selby says, in rearing the young of this species 
care should be taken to separate them very early; other- 
wise the female birds, being superior in size and stronger, 
are sure to destroy and devour the males, as he has re- 
peatedly found, if they are kept caged together. 
The Sparrow-Hawk generally takes possession of some 
old or deserted nest in a tree, most frequently that of the 
Crow, in which the female deposits four or five eggs, each 
