DOMESTIC HABITS OF THE SPARROW-HAWK. 179 



times between her flying to the male and returning to the nest. 

 The female, when I came, was covering the chicks, as from the 

 beginning. The latter are now very conspicuous during the 

 feeding, and, as I have never been able to distinguish more than 

 two, I have no doubt that this is the brood. 



A short resume of the principal facts contained in the above 

 observations may here be added. It is clear that there is a 

 marked differentiation of the domestic habits, as between the 

 male and female Sparrow-Hawk. The female alone incubates, 

 and, from a reperusal of my notes, I am inclined to think that, 

 even during this period, she is to some extent, at any rate, 

 supplied with food by the male. Possibly she may be so 

 entirely, or almost entirely, and it would seem that the booty 

 is not always delivered to her personally, but may be deposited 

 by the male in some place that they both know of, from which 

 she can take it at her pleasure. That it once was so deposited, 

 and that she did so take it, are facts, nor can they be supposed 

 to stand alone. On one other occasion, also, there was an 

 appearance of the female having taken something that had been 

 so deposited on the branch of a tree — as the other had been in, 

 or rather on, an old Jay's nest — but the question is whether the 

 female herself, or the male bird, had made these deposits. The 

 former would seem the more likely, for those who hide can find, 

 and since such booty might conceivably have been received by 

 the female from the male in the first instance, the question of 

 the bird's habits in this respect would be unaffected. In the 

 Jay's nest thus used, however, we seem to have something in 

 the nature of a special known place of deposit, and the fact 

 that the male hawk did, on one occasion, make what looked 

 very like a special descent upon it — its situation being such as 

 to render an accidental or chance visit very unlikely — suggests 

 that it may have been he who placed the dead Eedstart there 

 to supply the future needs of his partner — possibly also his own. 



To whatever extent the female Sparrow-Hawk, whilst in- 

 cubating, may be supplied with vivers by the male, the latter' s 

 duty in this respect becomes extremely rigorous from the time 

 that the eggs are hatched ; yet it is to be noted that both birds 

 were seen by me flying together, apparently on the look-out for 



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