384 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



359.1. Kestrel. 



Falco tinnunculus LiNN. 1758. 



One said to have flown on board ship off Cape Farewell, south of 

 Greenland, on Parry's first return voyage, and killed. {Arctic 

 Manual.) 



360. American Sparrow Hawk. 



Falco sparverius Linn. 1858. 



Dr. Coues saw a single individual of this species in Labrador. 

 It is not rare in Newfoundland, and breeds in Nova Scotia, Prince 

 Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Its occur- 

 rence in small numbers and breeding is recorded by many observers. 

 Dr. R. Bell took a male at York Factory, Hudson bay, and Preble 

 saw it at several points between Lake Winnipeg and Hudson bay. 

 Spreadborough observed it from Missinabi north to Moose Factory. 

 Seton, Atkinson and Criddle say that it is very plentiful in Mani- 

 toba, and the writer's own observations and those of Mr. Spread- 

 borough give the same result for the whole prairie region, including 

 Saskatchewan and Alberta. It is a common species in the valleys 

 of the Rocky mountains at Banff and westward. Abundant at 

 Revelstoke, on the Columbia, where it was first seen in 1890, on 

 April 9th. Later it became quite plentiful and was abundant 

 down the Columbia to Robson. This species is abundant westward 

 through British Columbia, but doubtless becomes mixed with the 

 desert sparrow hawk in the country around Lake Okanagan. Mr. 

 Fannin reports it common on the coast and Vancouver island. 



Richardson places its northern limit in lat. 54°, but Spreadborough 

 found it to be common between Lesser Slave lake and the Peace 

 river, Atha., and Ross saw it as far north in the Mackenzie river 

 valley as Lapierre House, though rather rare. In Alaska it is very 

 rare, as Nelson says only one specimen was known until Krause 

 found them numerous on Chilcat river near the end of August. 

 Bishop saw this bird, however, at several places along the Yukon 

 river, between Log Cabin and Circle. 



Breeding Notes. — This is the commonest of our small hawks 

 and breeds every year in suitable places in eastern Ontario. It 

 selects a hole, usually a flicker's, in a dead pine or some other tree, 



