THE KESTREL. 
135 
accordingly they contrive a suitable trap for catching them, 
which rarely fails. A white napkin is spread upon a meadow, 
and fastened down at the corners with little hooked sticks; 
on the middle of the napkin a live sparrow is placed, and 
kept there hy means of a string, three or four inches in length ; 
slender twigs are stuck up round the four sides of the cloth, 
to prevent the Kestrel from attacking the Sparrow, excepting 
from above. Two long slender twigs of weeping willow, well 
covered with bird-lime, are then stuck in the ground, one 
at each end of the napkin, both forming an arch over the 
Sparrow, hut at such a distance that it cannot touch them 
with its wings while fluttering, hut still so near as to render 
it impossible for any Hawk to reach the Sparrow without 
touching the lime -twigs. The use of the white cloth is 
merely to attract the attention of the Hawk to the Sparrow 
at a greater distance. The lime-twigs must he placed so 
lightly in the ground, that if the Hawk, on finding himself 
entangled, should struggle, they would still adhere to his 
feathers, and rise with him into the air if he took flight : for 
The Sparrow-hawk 
