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THE SPARROW-HAWK. 
Accijiiter fringillarius Willoughby. 
PLATE IX. 
Accipiter fringillarius, Willoughby and Ray Falco nisus, 
Linnaus Sparrow Hawk of Brit, authors. 
The Sparrow-hawk, next to the Kestrel, is the 
most abundant of the British birds of prey, 
inhabiting all the woodland and more cultivated 
parts of our islands ; while it is also, though 
more sparingly, met with in the wilder districts,- 
and extends its range to the Hebrides, in which 
it varies its usual habits, and breeds on the rocky 
precipices on the coast. Common in the enclosed 
and wooded parts of Ireland, and known to 
breed on trees only.* Woods of considerable 
extent are its most favourite retreats, where it 
can make excursions, and return either to the 
nest or its roosting place. Its form allows it to 
glide with rapidity among the trunks of the trees, 
and in the thicket, and the ample tail may be 
seen constantly employed in guiding its direc- 
W. Thomp. Mag. of Zool. and Bot. ii. p. 171. 
