FALCONS 



91 



Distribution. — Xortli America east oi the Kocky 

 Mountains ; breeds ironi the Upper Yukon, northwest- 

 ern Mackenzie, southern Keewatin, and Newfoundland 



soutl) to Texas and the eastern Gulf States (except 

 I'lorida) ; winters from Kansas, Indiana, Ohio, and 

 Massachusetts south tlirouKh Mexico to Costa Rica. 



The .Sparrow Hawk i,-; the smallest and lln' 

 most sociable of our Hawks ; it often nests in 

 hollows of old orchard trees near farm houses 

 or in dead trees alongside of roads. 



" Windhover " is a very a])i)ropriate name, for 

 they are much given to hovering over fields and 

 pastures; they remain almost stationary for many 

 miniUes suspended in the air with quick-beating 

 wings, and scan the ground below for grass- 

 hoi)pers and mice. Its familiar call of killy- 

 killy-killy-killy-killy-killy attracts attention to 

 its position. 



Small birds arc sometimes ca])tured, but so 

 rarely that I have not in many years' observa- 

 tions seen the deed ])erformed, although 1 have 

 found feathers of other birds in their nests. 



Of all the Falcons, the Sparrow Hawk is the 

 most beneficial. Of its food, Dr. A. K. Fisher 

 says : " .'Xt times it attacks small birds and young 

 chickens, but these irregularities are so infre- 

 quent that they are more than outweighed by its 

 good services in destroying insects and mice. 

 Grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects form its 

 principal food during the warm months, while 

 mice predominate during the rest of the year. 

 Terrestrial catcr])illars. beetles, and spiders also 

 are eaten to a considerable extent. As might be 

 expected, a large proportion of the birds captured 

 are taken during the nesting season, the Hawks 

 then having less time to procure their favorite 

 food. It is at this time also that they commit 

 depredations in poultry yards. During late fall 

 and winter, meadow mice and house mice form 

 a large part of their food, the former being 

 taken in fields and meadows and the latter around 

 corn stacks and about barns and outbuildings." 



R. L Brasher. 



The Desert Sparrow Hawk ( Faico sparvcrius 

 pliahrna) is larger than the stock form, with 



longer tail ; its colors are paler, with more rufous 

 .md a larger crown patch. The female has the 

 dark bars of upper parts narrower ; those of tail 

 more broken or incomplete. It inhabits western 

 North .'\merica, breeds from British Columbia 

 and southwestern Saskatchewan south to south- 

 ern California, New Mexico, and western Texas 

 east to Wyoming and western Nebraska, and 

 winters from British Columbia and Colorado 

 south to Guatemala. 



Photo by S. A. Lfittmii't- 



SPARROW HAWK 

 The smallest and most sociable of our Hawks 



The Little Sparrow Hawk ( Falco sparvcrius 

 panhts) has been honored with subspecific dis- 

 tinction because specimens smaller than the aver- 

 age have been captured in Florida, beyond the 

 confines of which State it is requested not to 

 roam ! 



