142 LAND BIRDS 



their sharp claws and tear from it with a right good- will. 

 It is comparatively easy, with a large amount of patience, 

 a good blind, and a field glass, to watch the brood de- 

 velop day by day ; for although so wild, the Marsh 

 Hawks will not desert their nestlings, and if you can so 

 arrange as to be inconspicuous they have little fear of 

 you. 



332 (part). WESTERN SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 



Accipiter velox pacificus. 



Family : The Falcons, Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



Lencjth: Male 10.00-11.50 ; female 12.50-14.00. 



Adult Male: Upper parts slate-color; under parts white, heavily barred 



and spotted with chestnut ; tail with three or four narrow black 



bands and a white tip. 

 Adult Female: Similar, but with markings less pronounced. 

 Young : Dusky brown above, buffy below, striped with brown or dusky. 

 GeograpJdcal Distribution: Western United States, south in winter to 



southern Mexico. 

 Breeding Season : April, May, and June. 



Breeding Eange : Throughout the United States and north to Alaska. 

 Nest: Of small sticks, lined with fibre of leaves, placed from 10 feet to 



60 feet high in a tree. 

 Eggs : 4 or 5 ; dull greenish white or grayish green, irregularly marked 



with brown. Size 1.46 X 1.20. 



Equally at home in the dense shadows of the forest, 

 on the treeless plains, or on the pine-covered mountain 

 tops, the little Sharp-shinned Hawk requires but two 

 things, — plenty of food and good water. Alas, that 

 the food should preferably be small song birds ! He is 

 a dainty eater, also, stripping all feathers from his victim 

 and refusing to swallow a bit of fur or a bone. This is 

 the only good thing which can be said of him, for a bird 

 more baleful to other feathered creatures, large and 

 small, can nowhere be found. All laws protecting native 



