68 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



color of upper parts, and in high plumage a clearer 

 and more uniform bluish-slate. Immature: Plumage 

 also similar to the corresponding age of the Sharp- 

 shinned. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest ; Usually in tall trees from 

 10 to 50 feet from the ground in secluded woodlands; 

 often an old Crow's or some other Hawk's nest is 

 appropriated ; being frequently occupied for a number 

 of years in succession, and, additional material being 

 added each spring, some of the nests become very large 



and bulky structures. Eggs : 3 to 6, pale bluish or 

 greenish-white, sometimes plain but usually spotted with 

 pale reddish-brown. 



Distribution. — North .•\nierica ; breeds from south- 

 ern British Columbia, southern .Alberta, southern Kee- 

 watin, central Quebec, and Prince Edward Island 

 south to southern border of the United States ; winters 

 from southern British Columbia, Colorado, Nebraska, 

 Ohio, and Massachusetts south to Costa Rica, and 

 occasionally farther north. 



The resemblance between Cooper's Hawk and 

 tlie Sharp-shinned is not confined to color, but 

 extends to habits, the Cooper being, if anything, 



Photo by H. K. Job Courtesy oi Uuting Pub. Co. 



COOPER'S HAWKS 

 Too young to leave the nest, but old enough to be curious 



because of its superior size, fiercer and more de- 

 structive. It will dash into the farmyard like a 

 bolt, passing withiti a few feet of indiyiduals 

 and carrying ofT a young chicken with incredible 



swiftness. The attack is accomplished so sud- 

 denly that, unless the gun is in hand, the robber 

 always escapes. There is no time to run even a 

 few yards for a weapon — the thief is gone be- 

 fore it can be reached. If there is plenty of thick 

 cover in the run, chickens will often escape, 

 especially the more active breeds, like Leghorns. 

 At my home in the Taconic Hills near Kent, 

 Conn., I have repeatedly seen them strike, but 

 as the foliage is dense and brushy they have in- 

 variably been unsuccessful in securing the quarry. 

 In four years we have not lost a chicken by 

 Hawks. 



Cooper's Hawk is preeminently a " chicken 

 Hawk," and is by far the most destructive species 

 we have to contend with, tiot because it is in- 

 dividually worse than the Goshawk, but because 

 it is so much more nuinerous that the aggregate 

 damage done far exceeds that of all other birds 

 of prey. Although not so large as the Goshawk, 

 it is strong enough to carry away a good-sized 

 chicken, Grouse, or cottontail rabbit. It is 

 especially fond of domesticated Doves, and when 

 it finds a cote easy of approach or near its nest- 

 ing site, the inmates usually disappear at the rate 

 of one or two a day until the owner takes a 

 hand in the game. The arboreal and ground 

 squirrels appear to be the mammals most fre- 

 quently taken by Cooper's Hawk. Remains of 

 chipmunks, red squirrels, and gray squirrels have 

 been found in the stoinachs. R. I. Brasher. 



GOSHAWK 

 Astur atricapillus atricapillus (Wilson) 



A. O. U. Xiimber 334 See Color Plate 45 



Other Names. — American Goshawk; Blue Hen 

 Hawk ; Blue Darter ; Partridge Hawk ; Dove Hawk ; 

 Chicken Hawk. 



General Descriprion. — Length : male, 22 inches ; 

 female. 24 inches. Spread of wings, 43 to 47 inches. 



.'\bout the same proportions as the Sharp-shinned Hawk 

 and Cooper's Hawk. Color above, bluish-slate ; below, 

 white. 



Color. — Adults: Top and back of head, black, the 

 white under surface of the feathers much exposed on 



