. Wild nature's ways . reaching my destination and going intohiding, the day grew so dark and gloomy thatphotography of any kind was quite out of thequestion, so I determined to utilise my time inthe making of observations. When the hawk returned, she stood for aminute on the edge of the nest, listening andmaking a careful survey of everything within lierrange of inspection. As soon as she becamesatisfied that all was well, she stepped awkwardlyforward, and, sitting down, raked her eggs underher breast with her hooked bill and chin, andfinally hustled them into position beneath herby the usual
. Wild nature's ways . reaching my destination and going intohiding, the day grew so dark and gloomy thatphotography of any kind was quite out of thequestion, so I determined to utilise my time inthe making of observations. When the hawk returned, she stood for aminute on the edge of the nest, listening andmaking a careful survey of everything within lierrange of inspection. As soon as she becamesatisfied that all was well, she stepped awkwardlyforward, and, sitting down, raked her eggs underher breast with her hooked bill and chin, andfinally hustled them into position beneath herby the usual side to side movements that alwaysseem to give incubating wild birds so much comfortand satisfaction. In a very short time a heavy shower of rainbegan to fall, and she found constant and annoyingemployment in shaking the accumulating drippingsfrom the foliage above off her head and neck. During the afternoon the weather improvedsomewhat, and the male bird arrived upon thescene, and commenced to call very persistently. FEMALE SPARROW-HAWK BUILDINGHER OWN NEST. 158 WILD NATURES WAYS. from a little distance. At first the sitting henappeared to take no notice whatever, but pre-sently grew more alert, and, suddenly springingoff her eggs, went away to join her mate, who,judging from the skeletons of several peewitslying on moss-grown knolls and fallen tree-trunks round about, had in all probability broughther some dainty morsel. She had not been gonemany minutes before the male pitched lightly onthe edge of the nest and admiringl} examinedthe eggs. I expected, from his interested de-meanour, that he was about to sit down andcover them, but after gratifying his vanity, hedashed off like an arrow through a vista in thetrees, and I beheld him no more. The following day proved liner, and I suc-ceeded in making a number of studies of thesparrow-hawk at home, and then moved mywood stack nearer still, and doubled its bird tried to neutralise this further familiarityon my part in
Size: 1267px × 1972px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, books, booksubjectnaturalhistory
