Wayne: Birds of South Carolina. 79 



primary is faintly margined throughout its entire length, and 

 the second has two faint spots, 



Richardson's Pigeon Hawk ranges chiefly in the interior of 

 North America, and breeds in Assiniboia, Alberta, and to the 

 northward. 



146. Falco sparverius Linn. Sparrow Hawk. 



The Sparrow Hawk is a permanent resident, abundant during 

 the winter but positively rare and very locally distributed in the 

 breeding season. Certain pairs return to the same places to breed 

 each year, and I have noticed that when a pair have been shot, 

 their places are not filled by others for a long period. When the 

 woods and fields are annually burnt over, the smoke attracts 

 nearly all the Sparrow Hawks in a radius of many miles, who 

 come to feed upon the grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects 

 that are trying to escape from the flames. On these occasions it 

 is not unusual to see, besides the Sparrow Hawks, numbers of 

 Red-tailed and Florida Red-shouldered Hawks. These hawks 

 are so intent upon catching the insects that they seem to be 

 utterly oblivious of the smoke and sparks. 



Some pairs breed much earlier than others. I have found birds 

 incubating as early as April 16, while others had not finished laying 

 by May 14. The eggs are laid in holes made by large woodpeckers, 

 or in natural cavities of trees, and vary in number from three to 

 six, buflfy white or reddish, sometimes sprinkled and again spotted 

 or even blotched with reddish. They measure 1.35X1.10. 



FAMILY PANDIONID.E: OSPREYS. 



147. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis (Gmel.). Osprey; Fish 

 Hawk. 



This well-known bird breeds abundantly on the coast islands, 

 but not so commonly on the mainland. Mr. Chapman's state- 

 ment ^ that the Fish Hawk winters in this state is certainly an 

 error, for this species is absent from December until very late in 

 February. If the season is a forward one the birds make their 

 appearance with great regularity, and I mention three dates upon 

 which the first birds have been observed, namely — February 24, 

 1897; February 25, 1904, and February 27, 1905. My earliest 

 record is February 14, 1907. But when the season is backward 



' Birds of Eastern North America, 212. 



