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Birds. 
THE SPARROWHAWK. (Falco, or Accipiter nisus.) 
The Sparrowhawk is a bold-spirited bird ; the length of 
the male is twelve inches, that of the female fifteen ; the 
beak is short, crooked, and of a bluish tint, but very- 
black towards the tip; the tongue black, and a little 
cleft ; the eyes of a middling size. The crown of the 
head is of a dark brown ; above the eyes, in the hinder 
part of the head, there are sometimes white feathers ; 
the roots of the feathers of the head and neck are white, 
the rest of the upper side, back, shoulders, wings, and 
neck of a dark brown. The wings, when closed, scarcely 
reach to the middle of the tail ; the thighs are strong 
and fleshy, the legs long, slender, and yellow ; the toes 
also long, and the talons black. The female lays about 
five eggs, spotted near the blunt end with brown specks. 
When wild they feed only upon birds, and possess a 
boldness and courage above their size; but in a domestic 
state they do not refuse raw flesh and mice. They can 
be made obedient and docile, and readily trained to hunt 
quails and partridges. 
