12 BIRDS OF PREY. 



Small birds and mice constitute its principal food ; and ac- 

 cording to Wilson, it follows often in the rear of the gregarious 

 birds, such as the Blackbirds and Reedbirds, as well as after 

 the flitting flocks of Pigeons and Robins, picking up the strag- 

 glers, the weak and unguarded, as its legitimate prey. Some- 

 times, when shot at without effect, it will fly in circles around 

 the gunner and utter impatient shrieks, — probably in appre- 

 hension for the safety of the mate, or to communicate a cry 

 of alarm. 



The Pigeon Hawk is not a common bird in Massachusetts, though 

 a few pairs breed in the State ; and it has been found in summer in 

 Connecticut, as well as in Illinois and Ohio, though Mcllwraith 

 considers it a migrant only in southern Ontario. It breeds spar- 

 ingly in the northern portions of New England, the Maritime Prov- 

 inces of Canada and north to the lower fur countries, and in winter 

 ranges to the Southern States. 



Note. — One example of the European Merlin {Fako regulus) 

 has been captured off the coast of Greenland. 



