The SPARROW HAWK (_Nisus communis_) is the European representative of
a very numerous group distributed throughout the world. These birds
(see Coloured Plate IX.) are distinguished by their elongated body,
small head, and delicate beak, furnished with a very sharp hook at the
extremity of the upper mandible; the wings are short, tail long, and
short at its tip; the tarsi are high and weak, the toes long and slender,
and armed with extremely sharp claws. The plumage varies but little in
its colour. This species is about one foot long, and two broad; the
wing measures seven inches and two-thirds, and the tail six inches; the
female is about three inches longer and five inches broader than her
mate. In the full-grown bird the entire upper portion of the body is
blackish grey, the under parts are white, marked with undulating reddish
brown lines; the shafts of the feathers are also of the latter hue, and
brighter in colour in the male than in the female; the tail is tipped
with white, and has five or six black stripes. In the young birds the
upper portion of the body is a greyish brown, beneath the throat white,
striped with brown; the belly and legs are ornamented with irregular
spots, the beak is blue, the cere yellow, the iris golden yellow, and the
feet pale yellow.
The Sparrow Hawk inhabits the whole of Europe and Central Asia; it is
stationary in some parts of the latter continent, but migrates from
Europe as winter approaches, and seeks a warmer climate in Northern
Africa or India, appearing, according to Jerdon, in the latter country
about the beginning of October, and leaving about February or March. This
species makes its home principally in woodland districts, preferring such
regions as are mountainous or hilly, and is more numerous in the central
portions of Europe than in the extreme south. Despite the shortness of
its wings, the Sparrow Hawk flies with ease and rapidity, but when upon
the ground it hops in the most ungainly manner. Towards such of its
feathered brethren as are larger than itself it exhibits no trace of
fear, and pounces upon its prey with a dexterity and courage that will
bear comparison with the demeanour of the noblest of its congeners. In
these encounters, the female bird has decidedly the advantage over her
mate, and can bear the brunt of a battle to which his strength would be
quite inadequate. Instances have been recorded in which this Hawk has
been so eager in the pursuit of its prey as to follow the victim even
into a house or wagon, and we lately heard of one darting into a railway
carriage when in rapid motion in order to secure its prize. Birds of all
sizes, including domestic fowls, are boldly attacked; Naumann mentions
having even seen a Sparrow Hawk swoop down and fasten itself upon the
back of a Heron. Small quadrupeds are devoured by these birds in great
numbers, and they will sometimes stoop upon hares, but whether this is
done with any hope of overcoming them, or merely for pleasure, we have
not been able to ascertain. In so much dread is this formidable enemy
held by the objects of its attack, that on its approach some birds will
throw themselves as though dead upon the ground; others will make for
their hiding-place with such devious turnings from the direct path as
baffle even the skilful steering of their pursuer, and then dart into
the inmost recesses of some protecting bush, and thus place themselves
for the time in safety. Such of the swift-flying smaller birds as do not
hold the Sparrow Hawk in dread, avenge themselves by following it boldly
with loud cries whenever it appears; and so annoying does this reception
prove to the tyrant of the woodland, that on the approach of some species
of Swallows, whose flight is too rapid to admit of revenge, it will soar
at once high into the air and beat a hasty retreat to its forest glades.
The prey of the Sparrow Hawk is usually conveyed to some quiet spot to be
devoured at leisure; the large quills are then pulled out and the carcase
devoured piecemeal, the indigestible portions, such as bones, feathers,
and hair, being subsequently ejected from the mouth, collected into large
balls called castings; it also frequently destroys the eggs and young of
such birds as make their nests upon the ground. The voice of this species
is but seldom heard except during the breeding season. The nest, which is
placed in some thicket at no great elevation, is built of small branches
of fir, birch, or pine trees, and the slight hollow that forms the bed
for the young is lined with down from the body of the female parent. The
eggs, from three to five in number, are large, and very various both in
shape, colour, and size; the shell is thick, smooth, white, or greyish or
greenish white, and more or less distinctly marked with spots of reddish
brown or greyish blue, sometimes lying thickly together and sometimes
very sparsely scattered over the surface. The female alone sits upon the
eggs, and testifies the utmost solicitude and affection for her young
brood, retaining her seat upon the nest in spite of repeated alarms, and
doing battle with all intruders. Both parents seek the food necessary
for the young family, though the female only is capable of preparing
morsels delicate enough for the tender beaks of the nestlings, who, we
are told, occasionally perish from hunger should they lose their mother
and be left to the more clumsy ministrations of the male bird. The young
are fed and instructed long after they have left the nest. Most numerous
are the dangers to which the European Sparrow Hawk is exposed, for not
only men, but all such birds as are more powerful than itself pursue it
with unextinguishable hatred and animosity; in some parts of Asia, on
the contrary, it is regarded with favour, owing to the facility with
which it can be trained to hunt the smaller kinds of game, particularly
Quails; in the southern districts of the Ural, according to Eversmann,
large numbers caught in the summer are trained for this purpose, and
after having been employed during the autumn are again let loose in order
to avoid the difficulty of keeping them through the winter months. The
female alone is reared for the chase, the male, when captured, being
allowed to fly again, as useless. In India this bird and another species
are regarded with equal favour, and are employed by the native falconers
in the pursuit of Partridges, Quails, Snipes, Pigeons, and Minas.