118 BULLETIN 16 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



farmer's gun. Dr. A. K. Fisher (1893) says: "Dr. William C. Avery, 

 of Greensboro, Ala., informs us that during one year he killed and 

 wounded at least a dozen of these Hawks before the inroads among 

 his doves ceased. * * * Dr. Warren states that a pair of these 

 Hawks destroyed some fifty cliickens from one farm, twelve of which 

 were taken in a single day." He summarizes the food of this hawk 

 as follows: "Of 133 stomachs examined, 34 contained poultry or 

 game birds; 52, other birds; 11, mammals; 1, frog; 3, lizards; 2, 

 insects; and 39 were empty." 



Among the wild birds mentioned in the food of Cooper's hawk are 

 teal and young of other ducks, least bittern, snipe, screech owl, quails, 

 partridges, grouse, doves, small hawks, flickers, blackbirds, jays, 

 meadowlarks, woodpeckers, grackles, numerous sparrows, towhees, a 

 few warblers, vireos, nuthatches, thrashers, catbird, robin, and 

 thrushes. The list of mammals includes hares, rabbits, opossum, 

 various squirrels, skunks, rats, and mice. It sometimes eats snakes, 

 lizards, frogs, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and even butterflies and 

 moths. Austin Paul Smith (1915) says that during a drought in 

 Arkansas, when most of the streams were dried up, he "flushed, on 

 several occasions, this hawk in the act of feeding upon minnows in 

 the desiccating pools." 



Behavior. — The flight of Cooper's hawk is very similar to that of 

 the sharp-shinned hawk, a low, swift, dashing flight. It surprises 

 its prey by a sudden, swift dash, pouncing upon it before it has a 

 chance to escape. Its short wings and long tail give it such control 

 of its movements that it can dart in and out among the branches 

 of the forest trees with impunity, or dodge through the intricacies 

 of thickets where its victims are hiding. Dr. Daniel S. Gage has sent 

 me some notes illustrating its crafty methods of approach. He was 

 watching a robin at the base of a tree in some thick woods when he 

 saw a hawk come, flying swiftly and keeping the trunk of the tree 

 between him and the robin ; when close to the tree the hawk swerved 

 around it and barely missed catching the robin. Again he saw a 

 hawk approach a field of tall weeds, in which some small birds were 

 feeding, flying close to the ground behind a fence, dash over the 

 fence, and pounce on one of the birds. On another occasion, a hawk 

 had seen, while perched on a distant tree, some chickens in a yard 

 close to a house; he flew low, behind the house until close to it, rose 

 over the house and pounced down on one of the chickens, which had 

 no chance to escape until he was right upon them. 



M. P. Skinner relates the following incident in his Yellowstone 

 notes : 



As I rode up the loop road through the aspens above Mammoth, I heard quick, 

 frightened bird cries on either side, and I even seemed to sense the excitement 

 in the air. I turned about to see what was happening and a Cooper hawk came 



