ACC1 PITRES. FA LCON! DA.
A cCIPITER NISUS (L in n s eU S * ) .
T H E SPARROW-HAWK.
Accipiter nisus.
Accii'itek, Brissonf. Beak bending from the base, short, compressed, supe-
nor ridge rounded and narrow, cutting margin of the upper mandible with a
distinct festoon. Nostrils oval. Wings sh o rt; the fourth and fifth quill-feathers
nearly equal in length, and the longest. Legs long, slender, and smooth. Toes
long and slender, the middle toe particularly, the claws curved and sharp.
I i ie S pa r r ow - H awk is another short-winged Hawk, but
of comparatively small size, in its habits very similar to the
bird last described, and has been aptly termed a Gos-Hawk
in miniature. In most wooded districts the Sparrow-Hawk
is a common and well-known species; bold, active, vigilant
" Falco nisus, Linnseus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 130 (1766).
f Ornithologie, i. p. 310 (1760).
and destructive, a dangerous enemy to small quadrupeds and
young birds, upon which it subsists, and is so daring during
the season in which its own nestlings require to be provided
with food, as frequently to venture among the out-buildings
of the farmhouse, where it has been observed to rapidly
skim over the poultry-yard, snatch up a chick, and get off
with it in an instant. The female Sparrow-Hawk is, indeed,
the only bird-of-prey which the game-preserver nowadays
need fear.
In reference to the capabilities of this species for hawking,
Sebright says that he once took a Partridge with a Sparrow-
Hawk of his own breaking, ton days after it had been taken
wild from a wood. In England it is commonly used for
taking Land-Rails, Partridges, Blackbirds, Thrushes and
other small birds, but in India it is trained to quarry of
much swifter flight, such as the Courser and Saud-Grouse.
The Sparrow-Hawk generally builds its own nest, but
often takes possession of that of some other bird, frequently
a Crow’s, in which the hen lays four or five eggs, which are
usually of great beauty, being boldly blotched with deep
brownish-crimson on a white or pale bluisli-wliite ground,
the markings being often massed together and leaving a
large part of the shell uncoloured, though examples are not
rare which are more uniformly spotted. Occasionally the
colouring is collected at one of the ends, and sometimes in
the form of a zone, while again it is found diffused over the
whole surface. The eggs measure from 1'72 to 1*42 by
1‘36 to 1-17 in. The young are covered with a delicate and
pure white down, and are abundantly supplied with food.
Selby mentions having found in a nest containing five young
Sparrow-Hawks, a Lapwing, two Blackbirds, a Thrush and
two Green Linnets, recently killed, and partly divested of
their feathers.
The Sparrow-Hawk is common throughout the whole of
Great Britain, and the enclosed and wooded parts of Ireland.
It also inhabits every country of the European continent,
from the most northern province of Norway southward. It
extends across Asia to Japan, and in China occurs at least
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