A HAWK'S WAYS
If there ever was a sulking sort of a bird it surely is the sparrow-hawk in winter. His prey may be enfeebled by cold and lack of food, but the oppor- tunities of coming upon it are few, particularly in a season when many of the small birds are in a warmer climate. When the trees are bare the hawk seems to dislike going aloft like the kestrel, and I was struck by this extremely furtive behaviour only the other day when, driving slowly down a lane, I put a hawk up from the grass verge. He went off at great speed, keeping strictly to the course of the road, and making no attempt to cross the hedge. I overtook him again and then again as he stuck to the road. By the time this had happened on perhaps the sixth occasion we had both travelled a good bit more than half a mile. At length the road branched to a farm and the hawk took the fork. I had a glimpse of him as I passed the spot, and saw that he continued to prefer the lane to exposing himself above the hedge, which may have been due to an instinct to conceal his presence at all costs, and increase thereby his chances of getting his dinner.
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