OF NEW ENGLAND. 351 



Audubon elsewhere adds : "I never saw one of them attack 

 a quadruped, alttiough I have frequently seen them perched 

 within sight of squirrels, which I thought they might easily 

 have secured, had they been so inclined." He also says: 

 " Many persons believe that this Hawk, and some others, never 

 drink any other fluid than the blood of their victims ; but this 

 is an error. I have seen them alight on sand-bars, walk to the 

 edge of them, immerse their bills nearly up to the eyes in the 

 water, and drink in a continued manner, as Pigeons are known 

 to do." ^ 



The Duck Hawks are so destructive, and so much opposed 

 to the interests of sportsmen, that, in spite of their admirable 

 spirit and strength, it is not to be regretted that they are rare 

 in Massachusetts. 



(C) coLUJiuARius. Pigeon Hcnolc. American Merlin. 



(Not very common in Massachusetts, though known to have 

 bred here.) 



(a). About twelve inches long. ^6ore, dark ash3'-blue ; in 

 the young (and 9 ) asliy-brown. Forehead, tip and narrow 

 bands of the tail, and markings on the wing, white or whitish. 

 Tail, in $ , also banded with black. Beneath^ white, tinged 

 with buff on the breast, with reddish behind, and marked with 

 dark brown. 



{h). The eggs average 1-50 X 1'20 of an inch, but othei*- 

 wise strongly resemble those of the Duck Hawk, unless more 

 finely marked. James Gatley, the so-called "Hermit of Hyde 

 Park," obtained in that town, several years before his death, 

 and before the pine-woods were extensively cut down, a small 

 and neatly constructed nest of this species, together with the 

 parents and young. I have another nest and five eggs, which 

 were found near Boston in the early part of May. The latter, 

 which was built in a pine about twenty feet from the ground, 

 is composed of sticks, together with dry grass, strips of cedar- 

 bark, and a little moss. The eggs are abnormal, being buff, 

 slightly clouded with a darker shade. 



(c). The Pigeon Hawks occur in the winter so far to the 



