8 



THE YOUNG NATUKALIST. 



from those of its fellows ; and your heart will re- 

 bound with joy when you reflect that that very 

 bird may have been reared from an egg which 

 you saw in a nest, but which you did not take. 

 With your collection at home, you can then show 

 your friends the wonderful beauty and ever chang- 

 ing variety of birds' eggs, and, if you keep some 

 of the nests as well, there will be in them a lesson 

 for any man or woman, and especially for the 

 thoughtless and lazy. In the following articles I 

 shall endeavour to show how to distinguish the 

 different kinds of eggs, and to tell you where the 

 Iiest is made, which may serve as a guide to the 

 beginner. 



HAWKS AND OWLS. 

 Of the birds of prey, we have only a few which 

 may be said to be really common to Britain, and 

 these not so common that their nests are likely to 

 be found by most school boys ; but one or other 

 of them may sometimes be stumbled upon by those 

 out at school in country places. I will describe 

 those most likely to be found, so that any one who 

 may find a nest, or who has eggs already found, 

 may have no difficulty in giving them their right 

 name. There are only two hawks which are at 

 all plentiful in England, — the Kestrel and the 

 Sparrow-hawk. The nest of the former is gener- 

 ally placed in the ledge of some rock, or rugged 

 place, and is often difficult to get at; while the 

 latter builds in trees, or appropriates the old nest 

 of a magpie or crow. Both birds generally lay 

 four or five eggs. Those of the Sparrow-hawk are 

 bluish-white, with brown markings and blotches 

 generally at the large end, but sometimes at the 

 small end, and occasionally around the thick part 

 only. I have one without markings. The eggs 

 of the Kestrel are darker, being nearly covered by 

 red and brown blotches of diherent shades. 1 

 have also one of these nearly without markings. 

 The Kestrel is the hawk which remains motionless 

 so long m the air, and which most people call 

 ii Stand-hawk." The Merlin is not so common as 

 either ol these. It builds its nest on the ground, 

 on moors among heather, of which the nest is 

 partly composed. The eggs are rather smaller 

 than thoi,e of the Kestrel, and the markings are 

 finer, being composed oi spots, rather than blotches 

 placed thickly all oyer the egg, but sometimes- 

 thickest at the large end. The Peregrine Falcon 

 and Hobby are rarer still, and few are likely to 

 come across their nests in England. In the North 

 they are rather commoner, but the game-keepers 



destroy all they can, which is the main cause o! 

 hawks and owls being so rare in this country. The 

 Peregrine Falcon frequents sea cliffs generally, 

 have known of its aest at Flamboro' Head and also 

 in the limestone rocks in the north of Yorkshire, 

 but always in very dangerous and inaccessible 

 places. The eggs are larger than any of those al 

 ready named, but somewhat similar in marking to 

 those of the Kestrel. The Hobby builds in trees^ 

 often in a deserted nest, and the eggs are the size 

 of the Kestrel's, covered with amber and black, 

 marking and spots. 



The Long-eared, the Short-eared, the Tawny, and 

 the Barn Owls occur in about equal numbers ; and 

 one is as likely to be met with as the other. I neve^ 

 found the nest of any of them, but the Long-eared 

 and Tawny Owls are said to build in trees 

 The Long-eared making shift with an old nest, 

 or the breeding-place of a squirrel, while the ^ 

 Tawny Owl prefers a hole in the tree. The 

 Barn Owl builds its nest in church towers, barns, 

 hollow trees, and sometimes inside a dovecote oi 

 amongst ivy. The Short-eared Owl places its nest 

 on the ground on moors and waste lands. The 

 eggs of all these Owls are white, and about the size 

 of a bantam's egg, but equally blunt at both ends 

 and not so rough, having a more highly polished 

 surface. Care should be taken with eggs like these 

 that the old bird is observed, and the eggs marked 

 at the time. 



Towards the end of autumn may be often 

 observed in fields the marks of footsteps, which 

 appear to have scorched the grass like heated 

 iron ; this phenomenon was formerly regarded 

 with superstitious dread, but can now be explained 

 upon very simple chemical principles. When 

 the grass becomes crisp by frost, it is exceedingly 

 brittle, and the loot 'of a man, or even of a child, 

 is sufficiently heavy to break it completely down, 

 and effectually kill it ; therefore, when the sun 

 has thawed the frosty rime from the fields, these 

 foot-tracks appear brown and bare in the midst 

 of the surrounding and flourishing green grass 

 So, many of the phenomena of Natural History 

 which are seized upon by the ignorant as proofs of 

 supernatural agency, will appear rational when 

 viewed through the medium of science. 



Printed and Published by Bowers Brothers, 

 146, Walworth Road, and 3, Fairford Grove, 

 Kenhington, London, S.L. 



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