SOME SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS its 
“Dr. Fisher summarizes as follows: ‘The subject of 
this Hawk is one of great interest, and, considered in its 
economic bearings, is one that should be carefully studied. 
The Sparrow Hawk is almost exclusively insectivorous, 
except when insect food is difficult to obtain. In locali- 
ties where grasshoppers and crickets are abundant, these 
Hawks congregate, often in moderate-sized flocks, and 
gorge themselves continuously. Rarely do they touch 
any other form of food until, either by advancing season 
or other natural causes, the grasshopper crop is so lessened 
that their hunger cannot be appeased without undue 
exertion. Then other kinds of insects and other forms 
of life contribute to their fare, and beetles, spiders, mice, 
shrews, small snakes, lizards, or even birds may be re- 
quired to bring up the balance. 
““*Tn some places in the West and South, telegraph poles 
pass for miles through treeless plains and savannas. 
For lack of better perches, the Sparrow Hawks often use 
these poles for resting-places, from which they make 
short trips to pick up a grasshopper or mouse, which they 
carry back to their perch. At times, when grasshoppers 
are abundant, such a line of poles is pretty well occupied 
by these Hawks. In the vicinity of Washington, D.C., 
remarkable as it may appear to those who have not 
interested themselves specially in the matter, it is the 
exception not to find grasshoppers or crickets in the 
stomachs of the Sparrow-hawks, even when killed during 
the months of January and February, unless the ground 
is covered with snow. It is wonderful how the birds 
can discover the half-concealed, semi-dormant insects, 
which in colour so closely resemble the ground or dry 
