FALCONIFORMES. 359 



the summer, one pair keeping off fresh arrivals for some 

 distance round their "eyrie." Peregrines are undoubtedly 

 injurious to game. Their chief food consists of grouse, par- 

 tridges, ducks, pigeons, kestrels, and various other birds, and 

 perhaps where this falcon is abundant there is some excuse 

 for destroying it. 



The Sparrow-hawk (Accipiter nisus). — The sparrow-hawk 

 belongs to another genus, Acdpiter. This genus is characterised 

 by the bill bending from the base, and by the cutting margin 

 of the upper mandible having a distinct festoon ; the wings 

 are short and the legs long and slender, the claws being curved 

 and very sharp, the middle toe long and slender. The sparrow- 

 hawk is a very common bird throughout Great Britain in wooded 

 districts. The male is slaty-blue above, buff below, barred with 

 tawny-brown ; the tail is brown with three to five dark bars ; 

 the cere is greenish-yellow, and the legs yellow. The female 

 has a greyish breast barred with brown, and is much larger than 

 the male, being some fifteen inches long. The sparrow-hawk 

 builds a nest of her own, although she sometimes uses as a 

 foundation the remains of a crow or rook nest. As many as six 

 eggs may be laid in May at intervals of two days. The sparrow- 

 hawk, unlike the kestrel, is a great nuisance, for its chief food 

 is game and young poultry, amongst which it is especially de- 

 structive when it has a brood of young. The meal is eaten on 

 the ground, the sparrow-hawk requiring both feet to secure its 

 prey. They hunt along hedgerows and wood-sides, and devour 

 also large numbers of small bitd& 



The White-tailed Eagle {Haliaetus albicilla). — Of the two 

 eagles found in Great Britain the white-tailed or sea-eagle is 

 that most often met with It is this species that is recorded 

 as the Golden Eagle (Aguila chi-ysaetus) every now and then in 

 the southern counties. The two species are readily distinguish- 

 able by the structure of the legs and feet. The sea-eagle has 

 the leg above the foot devoid of feathers, and the toes with a 

 single row of scales all the way down ; the golden eagle has the 



