CONCERNING A SPARROW HAWK FAMILY 109 



tion the less artistic sticks that are lying about : and, as a lining, either small 

 twigs or green leaves. 



Then the food of the Sparrow Hawk — like that of the Little Owl and the 

 Kestrel — has been the cause of yet further agitation. The grievance being, 

 as in the case of the others, that it destroys game birds. 



And we may as well admit at once that the Sparrow Hawk is the one 

 common bird of prey of these islands which is able to kill, not only quite 

 small pheasants or partridges, but birds which are considerably heavier than 

 itself. For, unlike the Kestrel and the Little Owl, the Sparrow Hawk does not 

 usually betray its presence until it is in the act of making the final dash. And, 

 in addition, it is courageous enough to attack yovmg pheasants that are assuming 

 their mature pliunage, and strong enough to carry a plucked bird as large as a 

 wood-pigeon to its nest. 



Most of the Sparrow Hawks' nests which I have examined after the yotmg 

 have flown have contained the bones of such birds as doves, blackbirds, thrushes, 

 sparrows, and other smaU fry ; whilst I have on rare occasions found the remains 

 of jay, cuckoo, night- jar, wood-pigeon, and green woodpecker. 



Two nests that I have in mind, however, were literally piled up with the 

 bones of defunct young pheasants — and it would seem that the parent hawk, 

 having discovered that it was possible to overcome such large and abundant 

 fowl, had acquired the habit of making a dead set at them. It is significant 

 that both of these nests were in the midst of very large preserves, where there 

 were not many bushes, and where in consequence there was a shortage of small 

 birds. For the Sparrow Hawk does not select a young game bird, if there are 

 blackbirds, starhngs, or some lesser fry to be had. It will, however, acquire 

 the habit of taking them if these others are not in sufficient quantities. That 

 at least is what my own experience has taught me. The inference that Sparrow 

 Hawks hunt in the immediate neighbourhood of the nest might be drawn 

 from the foregoing remarks, although it is far from my intention to suggest 

 that such actually is the case. As a matter of fact I have never yet seen or 

 heard a bird caught by a Sparrow Hawk anywhere in the close vicinity of the 

 nest ; though I have on many occasions seen the male approaching the nesting 

 wood from a distance with a bird in his talons, and beheve that hawks invariably 

 prefer to hunt at some little distance from the home. 



During the time that the nest is imdergoing construction, the Sparrow 

 Hawks may often be seen soaring at a considerable height — particularly when 

 the sun is shining — and, up to the time when the female is sitting, they usually 

 spend part of each day in thus taking the air. Sometimes a pair will be joined 

 by a third — and th^ three of them will circle above the trees in perfect amity ; 

 in fact it is by seeing the hawks thus soaring that one may often discover their 

 nest. 



I have always had such a profound admiration for the Sparrow Hawk 



