. Vögel durch das ganze Jahr . ein der üblichen Proportionen wird durch einen teilweisen Austausch der elterlichen Pflichten begleitet.nach seinen Beobachtungen bleibt das Männchen nach Tagen der Jungvögel zu Hause und brütet sie, während das Weibchen nach Beute jagt. Sie ist eindeutig die am besten geeignete Jägerin für eine sehr hungrige Familie; Aber es ist schwierig, einen ursprünglichen Grund dafür zu finden, dass das Weibchen der stouter Vogel ist, wie für die Annahme der üblichen Helligkeit des männlichen Gefieders und der aktiven Funktionen der Balz durch die Weibchen bestimmter Arten von australischen Wachteln, und unsere eigenen 24 FRÜHLING p
1925 x 1298 px | 32,6 x 22 cm | 12,8 x 8,7 inches | 150dpi
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. Birds through the year . on of the usual proportions isaccompanied by a partial exchange of the parental duties.According to his observations, after the young birds are afew days old the male stays at home and broods them, whilethe female hunts for prey. She is clearly the best fitted toplay the part of hunter for a very hungry family; but it isdifficult to find any original reason for the female being thestouter bird as for the assumption of the usual brightness ofmale plumage and the active functions of courtship by thefemales of certain species of Australian quail, and our own 24 SPRING phalaropes. Nature is ingenious in utilising her own pecu-liarities, but little primary purpose can often be detected inher variations. Sparrow-hawks have almost as much spirit as peregrinesin proportion to their size, though they hunt their prey oflittle birds in a more skulking manner. They flicker roundthickets and along hedgerows on their sharp wings, and oftensnap up unwary birds in the first flash when they suddenly . SPARROW-HAWKS FLICKER ROUND THICKETS turn a corner upon them, or find them perched. When theyare not too shy to haunt the neighbourhood of farmyards, they have a knack of slipping round the corner of the barn, and making off with a chicken or duckling before the wariestrooster has time to give the alarm. But they do not whollydepend on tactics of surprise, and can often overhaul evenso large, swift, and wary a bird as the wood-pigeon in fairchase. Here again the hen bird is much larger and morepowerful than the cock, and can make a match with a stronger BIRDS OF PREY 25 quarry. While kestrels feed chiefly on mice, and havedeveloped their characteristic hovering flight in hunting forthem over the open field, sparrow-hawks are primarilyhunters of other birds, and pursue them among bushes andbranches. They are typical hawks of wooded and enclosedcountry, and would be much commoner under modern condi-tions if they did not excite the enmity of every gamekeeperand f
