108 



BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BIRDS. 



On thy Presence, bright Essence ! my hope will pre- 



sume — 

 That thy smile of approval my song may illume ; — 



spotted and barred with black; beneath, light ferruginous, 

 barred with black ; tail cinereous grey, with a black bar near 

 the end ; legs yellow. The female is considerably larger than 

 the male ; the head and tail the same colour as the back, which 

 is not so bright a red-brown as the male ; beneath, lighter than 

 the male, but the black spots not so distinct; eggs from four 

 to six, not so large as a pigeon's; colour reddish brown, with 

 dark blotches ; nest on trees, and sometimes in a deserted mag- 

 pie's or crow's nest. Inhabits England, Europe, and Siberia. 

 Feeds principally on mice, sometimes on cockchafers, occasi- 

 onally on birds ; seen hovering in the air and quite stationary 

 for some time, then pouncing suddenly down on its prey. 

 This bird is a very useful one. In a paper read before the 

 Linnean Society containing some valuable observations on the 

 Birds of Norfolk a?id Suffolk by the Rev. R. Sheppaud and the 

 Rev. W. Whitear, May 3, 1825, it is stated, that a hawk of 

 this kind was observed to dart upon a weasel and immediately 

 to mount aloft with it in its talons; but had not proceeded far 

 before both fell from a considerable height to the ground; the 

 weasel ran off, but the Kestril, upon examination, was found to 

 have been killed by a bite in its throat. This bird is said to 

 migrate to the north early in the spring ; there are several varie- 

 ties ; it was formerly trained to catch game. 



The Pulumbarius, or Goshawk, inhabits England, Eutope, 

 and North America. Legs yellow, body brown, tail feathers 

 with pale bands; length twenty-two inches ; devours poultry, 

 and was formerly much used in falconry. — The Nisits, Spar- 

 row-hawk, or Spar-Hawk, inhabits England, Europe, 

 Africa, and Madeira. The legs are yellow, body above yellow- 

 ish brown, beneath, white waved with grey, tail with blackish 

 bands. Male twelve inches, the female fifteen inches long. 



