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its range in China from Canton to the Amoor, and he has likewise met with it in Formosa. 

 During his recent expedition to Hainan only one specimen occurred to him, and that was on the 

 20th of February at Tai-ping-sze (Central Hainan). 



The late Professor Macgillivray gave a charming account of the Sparrow-Hawk's habits, 

 which we quote almost entire : — " The manner of life of this elegantly formed and marvellously 

 agile little Hawk is better known than that of the congenerous Goshawk, it being the most 

 common and most extensively dispersed of our native species of diurnal plunderers. In spirit, 

 activity, dexterity, and daring, it has no superior, and in these respects contrasts strongly with 

 the Eagles and Buzzards, which yet are not sluggish birds, although we are apt to consider them 

 as such, when we compare them with the Falcons. The ground, the tree, the fence-rail, or the 

 stone wall merely afford it a resting-place, or a point of observation ; for, like most of the 

 Raptores, it is incapable of walking efficiently, the curiously prominent pads on its soles, and the 

 beautifully taper claws rendering such mode of progression impracticable, no Hawk having the 

 power of retracting the latter organs in the manner of the Feline tribe, or in such a degree as to 

 prevent their points from touching the ground. Its flight, however, is in some respects unrivalled ; 

 and while its wings are of sufficient length and breadth to give it a velocity nearly equal to that 

 of the Merlin, its tail is so large and mobile as to enable it to execute with never-failing prompti- 

 tude the most abrupt turnings, as well as the most delicate declensions. 



"There it comes, silently and swiftly gliding, at the height of a few feet, over the grass 

 field, now shooting along the hedge, now gliding over it to scan the other side, and again 

 advancing with easy strokes of its half-expanded wings. A beautiful machine it is certainly, 

 and marvellously put together, to be nothing but a fortuitous concourse of particles, as some 

 wise men, believing no such thing themselves, would have us to believe. As if suspecting the 

 concealment of something among the grass, it now hovers awhile, balancing itself with rapid 

 but gentle beats of its wings and a vibratory motion of its expanded tail ; but, unable to 

 discover any desirable object, away it speeds, bounds over the stone wall, and curving upwards 

 alights on that stunted and solitary ash, where it stands in a nearly erect posture and surveys 

 the neighbourhood. From such a station it will sometimes dart suddenly on some perhaps 

 unsuspecting bird not far off, but more frequently it proceeds to a distance before it finds its 

 prey. Should it meet with a Lark or a Thrush in its way, it may pursue it in open flight, 

 gliding rather behind than above it; but this is not its usual mode of hunting, and frequently 

 its efforts prove unavailing, for the object, of pursuit by gliding to either side during the swoop 

 of its enemy, and at length finding refuge in a hedge or thicket, often escapes with its life. 

 With a swift but stealthy pace it speeds in silence, casting keen glances beneath and around, 

 until finding a bird unprotected and heedless of its approach, it clutches him in an instant. So 

 rapid is the descent of this plunderer that to one who has unexpectedly witnessed it, nothing can 

 be much more surprising. I have seen a Sparrow-Hawk rush headlong into the midst of a dense 

 thicket, and suddenly emerge on the other side carrying off a Thrush in his talons. How a bird 

 at its utmost speed could thread its way between branches and twigs seems almost incredible. 

 When it steals upon the farm-yard or orchard, it will sometimes make a dash at a bird without 

 succeeding, and pass along ; or, should the bird fly off, it may pursue it in open flight. On two 

 occasions of this kind, I have seen a Thrush escape by entering a house ; and sometimes the Hawk 



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