EASTERN SPARROW HAWK 107 



That our sparrow hawk has always been a favorite with American 

 ornithologists is shown by the many appreciative, friendly comments 

 that we meet as we pass through the literature. Thus Coues (1874) 

 speaks of it as "the prettiest and jauntiest of our Hawks, and yet no 

 prig", and Brewster (1925) calls it "most light-hearted and frolic- 

 some." 



Spring. — As the breeding season draws near, the sparrow hawk 

 relaxes the habit of solitude to which it adheres, for the most part, 

 during autumn and winter. It may be true, although it is not posi- 

 tively known, that the birds mate for life, as is believed to be the cus- 

 tom of some of the Raptores, but in any case, at the approach of 

 spring — during April and May in the North Atlantic States — the birds 

 are commonly seen in pairs, often on windy treetops, perched near 

 together, either side by side or on adjacent branches. Here, not far 

 from their prospective nest site, they remain quiet for long periods, 

 with short flights together now and then, away and back again. The 

 difference in size proclaims them, even at a long distance, to be male 

 and female, and they display by their attention to each other, which 

 strongly suggests affection, the connubial character of their association. 



Courtshij). — William Brewster (1925) describes thus the behavior of 

 a pair of sparrow hawks, evidently on or near their breeding station 

 on May 17, 1881: 



To-day I saw them sitting not far apart on the tops of neighboring dead balsams. 

 Every now and then one, always the male, I thought, would mount high in air 

 to fly very rapidly, in a wide circle over and around where the other was perched, 

 bending the tips of his wings downward and quivering them incessantly, at the 

 same time uttering a shrill, clamorous kee-kee cry, oft repeated. Sometimes both 

 would start off together, to chase one another far and near, describing all manner 

 of beautiful curves and occasionally sweeping down almost to the surface of the 

 water. On realighting they invariably chose the very topmost twigs, often very 

 slender ones, and settled on these with no less abruptness than precision, yet with 

 admirable grace, scarce checking their speed until the perch was well-nigh reached 

 and just then deftly folding their shapely wings. 



Sherman C. Bishop (1925) had the opportunity for a period of two 

 weeks to watch the mating activities of a pair of birds that had "estab- 

 lished their hunting headquarters on the tops of some marble columns 

 which are a few feet below and a hundred feet away from my office 

 windows." He notes under April 14: "Preliminary to mating, the 

 birds faced one another and slowly bobbed their heads and tails, the 

 female keeping up a continuous low call", and under April 17: "Rain- 

 ing. Female called most of the afternoon. After mating, the male 

 sometimes mounts high in the air and performs some remarkable 

 evolutions — spirals, short dashes and a rapid drop ending on the back 

 of the female." Summarizing his report, he says: "Judging from these 

 observations, the female takes the initiative in mating. Her calls are 

 continuous for many minutes at a time and are often accompanied by 



