SPARROW-HAWK. 
35 
HAPTORES. 
FA LCONIDJE. 
SPARROW-HAWK. 
Accipiter nisus. 
PLATE XII. 
The Sparrow-hawk, although one of our commonest 
birds of prey, is not nearly so numerous as the kestrel. 
Its eggs may sometimes be found upon the ledge of some 
lofty cliff, but are much more frequently to be met with 
in trees, for the most part occupying the usurped nest of 
a crow or magpie; sometimes it would appear, however, 
in a nest of its own construction. Mr. Selby says, that 
it occasionally makes its own nest in low trees or thorn- 
bushes, that it is flat and shallow, and very similar to that 
of the ring-dove, but rather larger, and is composed of 
slender twigs. 
The eggs of the Sparrow-hawk, although usually very 
readily distinguished from those of any other species, are 
subject to varieties which sometimes rather resemble those 
of the kestrel but are never marked with the same rich 
crimson colouring. 
There are some specimens, on which all the markings 
are very obscure and indistinct; and others on which all 
the dark blotches of colour are at the smaller instead of 
the larger end. I know of no egg which is so subject to 
this variety. Mr. Walter's collection contains one that 
is white, except a few black dots; another that is 
pointed at the smaller end like the egg of a wader. 
