THE SPAREOWHAWK 



CHAPTER XI 



The Hen- Harrier : Destructiveness to Game ; Female of ; Trapping — Tlie Sparrow- 

 liawk: Courage of; Ferocity ; Nest— "Bhe Kestrel: Utility of— The Merlin: 

 Boldness — The Hobby — Increase of Small Birds. 



In the autumn my partridges suffer much from the hen-harrier.^ 

 As soon as the corn is cut this bird appears, and hunts the 

 whole of the low country in the most determined and systematic 

 manner. The hen-harrier, either on the hill-side or in the 

 turnip-field, is a most destructive hunter. Flying at the height 

 of only a few feet from the ground, he quarters the ground as 

 regularly as an old pointer, crossing the field in every direction ; 

 nor does he waste time in hunting useless ground, but tries 

 turnip-field after turnip-field, and rushy field after rushy field, 

 passing quickly over the more open ground, where he thinks 

 his game is not so likely to be found. The moment he sees a 



' The hen-harrier is fond of hunting about farm-yards, where it kills rats, etc. It also 

 is a great frequenter of marshes, where it hunts later in the evening than any other hawk. 

 Feeds on grouse, partridges, rats, reptiles. During summer the hen-harrier generally 

 frequents the moors and high grounds, killing great numbers of grouse, etc, ; in the winter 

 it hunts more in the lower part of the country. When bunting it flies 'ow, and quarters 

 the ground as carefully as an old pointer,— 'C. St. J. ' 



