DUCK HAWK 63 



beginning nor end can be accurately determined, and yet its middle 

 part has great carrying power. It can be closely imitated by singing 

 aaaaa in the roof of the mouth, with the lips open, at a pitch close to 

 second-octave F on the piano. It is a pleasing sound of itself, and to an 

 habitual watcher at the cliffs becomes more so by association. It and 

 the wichew note are used by both sexes but somewhat more extensively 

 by the male than the female; there is no recognizable difference in 

 tone." 



Field marks. — The characteristic falcon flight, the long, pointed 

 wings, and the long tail will distinguish it from all other hawks, except 

 the other falcons, from which it differs in size. If one is near enough, 

 the white throat, the peculiar color pattern of the head, and the large 

 yellow feet are conspicuous, especially in the adult. The adult is 

 much darker colored above than the prairie falcon, especially on the 

 head; the young bird is also somewhat darker; but the two species are 

 about the same size. The head markings will distinguish it from the 

 much larger gyrfalcons. 



Fall. — The fall flight of duck hawks from their more northern 

 breeding resorts occurs early in October in New England. Referring 

 to the flights at Fishers Island, N. Y., the Fergusons (1922) say: 

 "A few come on the regular flight days, but, like the Pigeon Hawks, 

 they prefer a southwest wind to any other. A strong wind is no 

 hindrance to them, and we have come to feel that a typical Duck Hawk 

 day is one when the wind is blowing from the south-west, with almost 

 a hint of bad weather. * * * The adults come mixed in with 

 the immature birds during the migration, but late in the season adults 

 are still seen after the last of the young have gone by." 



Winter.— Most of our northern-breeding duck hawks retire to the 

 Southern States in winter. During the winter that I spent in Pinellas 

 County, Fla., a large female duck hawk frequented the lower sandy 

 islands about Tampa Bay; I occasionally saw it sitting on some little 

 eminence on the islands frequented by terns and various shorebirds. 

 A picked skeleton of a royal tern and the remains of galls and shore- 

 birds were evidences of its work. It remained all winter until it was 

 shot on March 11. About the Everglades, in southern Florida, we 

 occasionally saw a solitary duck hawk sitting on some tall tree, or 

 flying about where small herons, ibises, and coots were abundant. 



But some adults remain as far north as Massachusetts and New 

 York all winter. It is not unusual for one of these falcons to spend 

 the winter in one of our large cities, where it finds an abundant food 

 supply in the large numbers of pigeons that now live in our cities. 

 The Custom House tower in Boston, the tall buildings in New York 

 City, the City Hall tower in Philadelphia, and the Post Office tower 

 in Washington have all been favorite resorts for winter-resident duck 

 hawks. Using the tallest buildings for their lookouts, they make 



