An Introduction to Nature-study

During the greater part of the year the brilliant plumage of the drake forms a striking contrast to the sober brown and grey feathers of the female. Another point of difference is that in the male the four middle tail-feathers are curled upwards. From July to October, however, before the moult takes place, the two sexes are very similar in appearance. Birds of the duck order moult in a somewhat different manner from most other birds, in that all the quill-feathers are shed at once, instead of in pairs. Until the new feathers develop, flight is of course out of the question, and the birds remain as secluded as possible in the meantime.

The eggs are white and greasy-looking; they are laid in a rough, open-topped nest, lined with down, which is placed on the ground. The wild duck covers up the eggs when she leaves the nest. The young are active immediately after hatching. It has been noticed that the eggs of precocious birds are generally larger, in proportion to the size of the parent, than those of birds which are naked and helpless at hatching—the larger store of egg-food allowing a more complete development of the young bird in the shell. Further, the nests of precocious birds are, as a rule, less elaborately constructed.

59. TWO COMMON HAWKS.

1. The sparrow-hawk.—Watch for sparrow-hawks near farms. Notice the general resemblance of the bird to the cuckoo, but distinguish them by the short head and beak of the hawk. Observe the bluish-grey colouration of the upper parts. Describe the flight of the hawk and, if possible, its method of catching its prey.

2. The kestrel or windhover.—Distinguish the kestrel from the sparrow-hawk (i) by the reddish colour of its upper parts, and (ii) by its habit of hovering in mid-air. Have you ever known the kestrel to prey upon small birds? Upon what does it feed?

The sparrow hawk and kestrel.—These two birds are the only British hawks which the average nature-student is likely to see during a country walk; and as one of them is given to preying on young game-birds, chickens, etc., while the other as generally confines itself to animals which are universally regarded as vermin, it is important to be able to distinguish them at sight.

The sparrow-hawk (Fig. 213) attains a length of 13 inches; the female is slightly larger than the male. The upper parts of the body are bluish-grey in colour; the lower parts are buffish white, and crossed with brown bars. The head is short and round; the bill is hooked and sharp, as in birds of prey generally, and the toes are armed with sharp claws. The bird is often to be seen near farms, lurking behind hedges and waiting for an opportunity of dashing upon chickens or other small birds and carrying them off.

The kestrel, which in size and shape much resembles the sparrow-hawk, is really a species of falcon (Fig. 179). It is unrivalled among common British birds in its power of remaining poised in one position in mid-air by that rapid motion of the wings which is called hovering, a power which has earned for it the name of “windhover.” The kestrel, though in reality one of the farmer’s best friends, from its wholesale destruction of field-mice, voles, and many injurious insects, is often ignorantly confused with the sparrow-hawk. The reddish hue of the plumage of the kestrel’s upper parts, together with the hovering habit, ought to render such a mistake impossible to observant eyes, and to secure the bird from a persecution which may reasonably be directed against the sparrow-hawk.

EXERCISES ON CHAPTER XVII.