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to pursue and harass him, knowing that their number secures them against an attack, as in his 

 perplexity he cannot fix upon an individual. To this it may reasonably be objected that, having 

 no power, even when united in bands, to oppose a Hawk, these birds ought naturally to conceal 

 themselves from his view, in order to ensure their safety. After attending to this subject for 

 some time, and observing that in most cases the Hawk when pursued by small birds had one of 

 them in his talons, and was thus so encumbered as to be incapable of molesting them, I am still 

 of the same opinion as when I offered the following solution of this question : — ' How does a 

 bird, which under ordinary circumstances manifests extreme terror at the sight of another, under 

 other circumstances muster sufficient courage to pursue it 1 Is it certain that a Hawk is unable 

 to single out a bird from a flock 1 or is there more reason to think that a troop of Swallows, 

 which have no weapons that could inflict the least injury on a Hawk, could in the smallest 

 degree affect it with fear % It is observable in our own species, that cowards, the moment the 

 danger is over, assume so much more courage than is natural to them that, in the midst of the 

 excitement, they will even make a venture which in ordinary circumstances they would not have 

 courage to do. The small birds that we speak of are all cowards, in the presence of Hawks at 

 least ; and when one of the latter comes unawares among them and carries off one, or passes over 

 without pursuing them, they soon recover from their fright; and being elated beyond their 

 ordinary state, in a degree corresponding to their former depression, they muster spirit enough 

 to go on for some time with a mock pursuit.' It is this sudden revulsion when the danger is 

 over, that renders clamorous in the trees birds which were perfectly silent when the Hawk was 

 gliding past them. 



" With the view of presenting as complete an account of this bird as possible, I shall now 

 introduce a notice respecting it from the pen of my friend Mr. Hepburn : — 



" ' The Sparrow-Hawk is common in all the cultivated part of East Lothian. When 

 searching a field, it sometimes hangs in the liquid void precisely like the Kestrel. In the dim 

 twilight I often see it coursing about its favourite hunting-grounds, on the look-out for some 

 bird that may have incautiously roosted within reach of its formidable grasp. For many years 

 an individual of this species has almost daily visited our stack-yard during the winter season, 

 generally betwixt noon and three o'clock. As he glides in lowly flight over the fields to his 

 larder, as the stack-yard may be termed, his detested presence is first announced by the " twink " 

 of some Chaffinch perched on a tall tree. Its companions repeat the alarm cry, and in company 

 with Buntings and Linnets fly up to the trees, a few perching on the bushes. The Sparrows 

 feeding near the barn-door seek the middle of the neighbouring hedge, or betake themselves in a 

 compact flock to the shelter of the evergreens in the garden, where they remain perfectly quiet 

 till the danger is over. Not so the other birds, which from their commanding position emit 

 cries expressive of their fears. The clear notes of the Chaffinch are distinguishable above the 

 rest. Two or three hundred of these birds twinking in chorus produce a fine effect on a calm 

 frosty day like this. The Hawk now perches for a minute or so on the hedge, and, as the stacks 

 screen him from view, the fears of the poor birds subside for a little ; but there he comes ; swift 

 as the arrow from the bow he rushes from between the stacks, gains the plantation, dashes 

 fearlessly among the bushes after the fugitives, clutches his quarry, and is off as swiftly as he 

 came. Sometimes, when he has stealthily approached the garden, without being observed, 



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