WINTER FALCON, OR RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 107 



This very elegant Hawk does not probably migrate or 

 inhabit very far to the north. They are never seen, I 

 believe, in Massachusetts, nor perhaps much further 

 than the state of New York. In the southern states, 

 during winter, they are very common in swampy situa- 

 tions, where their quailing cry of mutual recognition may 

 be heard from the depths of the dark forest, almost every 

 morning of the season. This plaintive echoing note re- 

 sembles somewhat the garrulous complaint of the Jay, 

 hee-o6, kee-o6^ lcee-o6, continued with but little intermis- 

 sion sometimes for near 20 minutes ; at length, it be- 

 comes loud and impatient, but on being distantly an- 

 swered by the mate, the sound softens and becomes 

 plaintive like kee-oo. This morning call is uttered most 

 loudly and incessantly by the male, inquiring for his ad- 

 venturous mate whom the uncertain result of the chase 

 has perhaps separated from him for the night. As this 

 species is noways shy, and very easily approached, I 

 have had the opportunity of studying it closely. At 

 length, but in no haste, I observed the female approach 

 and take her station on the same lofty, decayed limb 

 with her companion, who, grateful for this attention, 

 plumed the feathers of his mate with all the assiduous 

 fondness of a dove. Intent upon her meal, however, 

 she soon flew off to a distance, while the male still 

 remained on his perch dressing up his beautiful feathers 

 for near half an hour, often shaking his tail, like some 

 of the lesser birds, and occasionally taking an indifferent 

 survey of the hosts of small chirping birds which sur- 

 rounded him, who followed without al^rm their occupa- 

 tion of gleaning seeds and berries for subsistence. This 

 Hawk, indeed, lives principally upon frogs, and proba- 

 bly insects and Cray-fish in the winter. In this pursuit 

 I have occasionally observed them perched on low bushes 



