DESERT SPARROW HAWK 121 



Colorado: 15 records, April 28 to July 7; 8 records, May 21 to 

 June 3. 



Washington and Oregon: 18 records, March 31 to May 29; 9 

 records, May 21 to 24. 



California: 198 records, March 2 to June 4; 99 records, April 12 

 to May 3. 



Baja California: 3 records, May 11 to 15. 



FALCO SPARVERIUS PHALAENA (Lesson) 



DESERT SPARROW HAWK 

 HABITS 



When Dr. Edgar A. Mearns (1892) published his study of the spar- 

 row hawks, he characterized this race, under the name deserticolus, 

 as follows: "Larger than Eastern sparverius, with relatively longer 

 tail. This is a desert form from the treeless regions of the Southwest. 

 It is paler, much more rufous, and with a larger crown patch than 

 in the typical form. The black bars on inner webs of quills do not 

 cross the entire web, as in sparverius, but occur as sparse serrations 

 of dusky along outer extremity of shaft, sometimes approaching the 

 condition of whiteness seen in the light phase of F. dominicensis, 

 and in some specimens from Florida. Female with more numerous 

 and yellow spotting below, and a redder tone to the under side of 

 the tail. The dark bars of the upper surface are narrower, those of 

 the tail being more often incomplete." 



And he gave as its habitat: "Southwestern United States, north 

 to northern California and western Montana, south to Mazatlan in 

 northwestern Mexico." This is a somewhat larger range than we 

 now ascribe to it. The Check-List (1931) now confines it to a breed- 

 ing range "from southern New Mexico, Arizona, southern Calif ornia, 

 and southern Nevada south into Mexico and northern Lower Cali- 

 fornia." This latter is doubtless more nearly correct, for we should 

 naturally expect this pale race to be confined to the arid plains and 

 deserts of the Southwest. 



Courtship. — Mrs. Florence M. Bailey (1928) publishes the following 

 interesting note from Prof. D. E. Merrill: 



The female was perched on a cross arm of a light pole when the male appeared 

 in air high overhead, and hovered there, both birds squealing vociferously. 

 Dropping back behind a mesquite bush he caught a lizard and flew to her with 

 it in his beak. But instead of accepting his offering, she ungraciously pecked 

 him on the head! "At this he moved away to a safer distance and both began 

 the squealing again, at the same time gesticulating wildly with their heads and 

 bodies. Gaining courage the male once more approached with the lizard. This 

 time the female took it in her bill and immediately and coquettishly dropped it 

 to the ground. A true gallant, the suitor flew down and picked it up again but 

 flew to the next pole to alight. Here he preserved a dignified mien and stern 

 13751—38 9 



