Black Brant (Branta nigricans) 

 Range: Breeds on the Arctic coast and islands from Point Barrow east to 

 near mouth of Anderson River, north probably to Melville Island ; common on 

 Siberian coast, Chukchi Peninsula, and west to New Siberian Islands; winters 

 on Pacific coast from British Columbia south to San Quentin Bay, Lower Cali- 

 fornia, and in the interior of Oregon and Nevada. 



The black brant is the Pacific counterpart of the brant of the Atlantic 

 coast, and like that bird an object of keen pursuit by the sportsmen of the 

 region it frequents. Like its relative it retires well within the Arctic Circle in 

 summer, and like it also is an exclusive salt-water species, feeding on marine 

 grasses and small marine life. When in search of food, Dawson tells us, the 

 black brant dives as* well as a dipper. This brant winters on the Pacific coast 

 in great numbers from Puget Sound southward. Twenty-five years ago it 

 wintered in great numbers in San Diego harbor, and there was so tame and 

 unsophisticated that only moderate skill and caution were necessary to insure 

 a reasonable bag in a very short time. The bird was usually shot from blinds 

 or from points as the flocks passed to and from their feeding grounds. Nelson 

 states that this brant rarely reaches the mouth of the Yukon before May 15th, 

 when the main flight of the other geese has passed, and many of those which 

 remain to breed have already paired. 



Sparrow Hawk (Falco sparvenus) 



Length : About 10 inches. This is one of the best known and handsomest, 

 as well as the smallest, of North American hawks. 



Range : Breeds throughout the United States, Canada and northern Mexico ; 

 winters in the United States and south to Guatemala. 



Habits and economic status : The sparrow hawk, which is a true falcon, 

 lives in the more open country and builds its nest in hollow trees. It is abundant 

 in many parts of the west, where telegraph poles afford it convenient perching 

 and feeding places. Its food consists of insects, small mammals, birds, spiders, 

 and reptiles. Grasshoppers, crickets, and terrestrial beetles and caterpillars 

 make up considerably more than half its subsistence, while field mice, house 

 mice, and shrews cover fully 25 per cent of its annual supply. The balance of 

 the food includes birds, reptiles, and spiders. Contrary to the usual habits of 

 the species, some individuals during the breeding season capture nestling birds 

 for food for their young and create considerable havoc among the songsters 

 of the neighborhood. In agricultural districts when new ground is broken by the 

 plow, they sometimes become very tame, even alighting for an instant under the 

 horses in their endeavor to seize a worm or insect. Out of 410 stomachs ex- 

 amined 314 were found to contain insects; 129, small mammals; and 70, small 

 birds. This Httle falcon renders good service in destroying noxious insects and 

 rodents and should be encouraged and protected. 



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