io6 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



the corner of the house, I have been startled by a sparrowhawk 

 gliding rapidly past me. Once one came so close to me, that 

 his wing actually brushed my arm ; the hawk being in full 

 pursuit of an unfortunate blackbird. On another occasion, a 

 sparrowhawk pursued a pigeon through the drawing-room 

 window, and out at the other end of the house through another 

 window, and never slackened his pursuit, notwithstanding the 

 clattering of the broken glass of the two windows they passed 

 through. But the most extraordinary instance of impudence 

 in this bird that I ever met with, was one day finding a sparrow- 

 hawk deliberately standing on a very large pouter-pigeon on 

 the drawing-room floor, and plucking it, having entered in 

 pursuit of the unfortunate bird through an open window, and 

 killed him in the room.^ 



The sparrowhawk sometimes builds on rocks, and sometimes 

 in trees. Like all rapacious birds, he is most destructive during 

 the breeding-season. I have found a great quantity of remains 

 of partridges, wood-pigeons, and small birds about their nests ; 

 •though it has puzzled me to understand how so small a bird 

 can convey a wood-pigeon to its young ones. There is more 

 difference in size between the male and female sparrowhawk 

 than between the different sexes of any other birds of the hawk 

 kind, the cock bird being not nearly so large or powerful a bird 

 as the hen. Supposing either male or female sparrowhawk to 

 be killed during the time of incubation, the survivor immediately 

 finds a new mate, who goes on with the duties of the lost bird, 

 whatever stage of the business is being carried on at the time, 

 whether sitting on the eggs or rearing the young. 



The kestrel breeds commonly with us about the banks of 

 the river, or in an old crow's nest.^ This is a very beautifully 

 marked hawk, and I believe does much more good than harm. 

 Though occasionally depriving us of some of our lesser singing 

 birds, this hawk feeds principally, and indeed almost wholly, on 



^ My own windows have more than once been broken by sparrowhawks pursuing 

 pigeons and blackbirds from the shrubbery. On one occasion an unfortunate sparrow- 

 hawk thus broke its back in darting through the glass of my drawing-room window, yet 

 when found some little time afterwards lying on the floor it fought vigorously with beak 

 and talons and resisted every attempt to take it up or succour it. At another time I 

 know of one breaking the glass of a nursery window and striking the bare arm of a little 

 girl who was sitting close to the window. It probably mistqok th« child's WW fQf a smajl 

 • bird, dimly visible as it was through the glass. 



" On rooks a,nd rarely in trees, — C. St. J. 



