290 MICHIGAN JilKD LIFE. 



or "noble hawks" by the sportsmen of the middle ages and more recent 

 times who devoted much of their time to hawking. It kills its game 

 either by direct chase, sudden assault, or, more commonly, by rising in 

 a spiral until it gets above its victim and then dr()i)ping with unerring 

 precision upon it. 



Sometimes it nests upon a lofty tree, but its favorite aerie is the inacces- 

 sible ledge of some cliff, where it builds a nest of sticks and twigs and rears 

 its young in perfect safety. Such a nesting place, the only one known to 

 us in Michigan, was located on the south shore of Lake Superior in the 

 summer of 1906, by Mr. E. A. Doolittle, who found the young, full-fledged 

 and very noisy, early in July. Among the remnants of food brought for 

 the young was found the entire foot and part of the skeleton of a Long- 

 eared Owl. 



It lays three or four buffy or deep brown eggs, sometimes nearly uniform 

 in color, but more often heavily spotted and blotched with several shades 

 of brown. They average 2.10 by 1.60 inches. 



Mr. Robert Ridgway describes three nests of this species found near 

 Mt. Carmel, 111., in the spring of 1878. All were placed in cavities in the 

 tops of very large sycamore trees, and were inaccessible. One tree was 

 felled and the measured distance from the ground to the nest was 89 feet. 

 The eggs in Indiana and Illinois are deposited in April or May; probably 

 somewhat later in our latitude. As with most other large hawks the period 

 of incubation is about four weeks, and but one brood is reared each year. 



This falcon feeds almost entirely upon large bii'ds, particularly grouse, 

 partridges, and Avater fowl. It is decidedly fond of poultry, and were it 

 more common doubtless would prove quite a pest to the farmer. As it 

 is, not one Michigan farm in a thousand is visited by this bird in the course 

 of a lifetime. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Upper mandible not sinii)Iy liooked, but with an additional point or "tooth" near the 

 tip and a corresponding notch in the lower mandible; first and second i^rimaries longest 

 and about the same length, only the first distinctly emarginate, on inner web. 



Adult: Top and sides of head very dark slate or black, the back similar but paler; 

 chin, throat and chest white or buffy white, without dark markings, or with a few narrow 

 shaft-streaks, but the lower breast, sides and belly sharply barred with black; wings and 

 tail blackish closely barred with lighter, mainly on inner webs of feathers. Bill bluish 

 black; iris brown; cere and feet yellow. Immature: Similar above, but most feathers 

 with light edgings; underparts much more buffy and lieavily streaked (not barred) with 

 brown or blackish. 



Male: Length 15.50 to 18 inches; wing 11.30 to 13; tail 6 to 7.50. Female: Length 

 18 to 20 inches; wing 13 to 14.75; tail 6.90 to 9. 



146. Pigeon Hawk. Falco columbarius columbarius Linn. (357) 



Synonyms: Pigeon Falcon, American Merlin, Bullet Hawk. — Falco columbarius, 

 Linn., 1758, and authors generally. Lithofalco columbarius, Bonap., 1850. — ^^salon 

 columbariu.s, Kaup., 1850.— Falco (.Esalon) lithofalco, B. B. & R., 1875. 



A medium sized falcon, smaller than the Duck Hawk and larger than the 

 Sparrow Hawk, with the two outer primaries emarginate on the inner 

 web. In color it most closely resembles the Sharp-shinned Hawk, but is 

 more heavily built, Avith shorter tail, more pointed wings, and above all, 

 the typical falcon bill. 



Distribution. — The whole of North America, south to West Indies and 

 northern South America. Breeds chiefly north of the United States. 



