Sparrow Hawk 



( Accipiter nisus ) LlNN^US. 



MALE, FEMALE, NEST AND EGGS. 



(JT^HE male of this species is much smaller than the female, although it does 

 not appear so when flying. The former is carrying a small bird in its 

 talons, the female waiting at the edge of the nest to receive it. The birds are the 

 actual parents of the nest and eggs. They were collected on the Eaton Estate, 

 and presented by His Grace the Duke of Westminster, K.G. 



The nest in situ in a branch of Scotch fir, is of considerable interest, being 

 decorated externally with down from the parent birds. When freshly cut from 

 the tree the branches were covered in parts with the white cottony material secreted 

 by the Pine Aphis (C hemes pint, Koch J. So striking was the resemblance between 

 the white patches of down on the nest and the "cottony material" on the fir 

 branches, that it seemed as if the nest had been intentionally decorated to simulate 

 the natural surroundings. 



