502 
ACCIPTER FUSCUS—Gmelin—THE SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 
Wilson’s Am. Orn., V., pl. 45, fig. 1, Young Female; VI., pl. 46, fig. 
1, Male. 
Audubon’s B. of Am., Oct. ed., I, pl. 25. 
This handsome little hawk is common in Ohio, and may often be seen 
in pursuit of its prey during the spring, summer, and fall months. Speci- 
mens are often shot in the vicinity of Cleveland. We have never seen the 
nest of this bird, but it has been found in various places within the State. 
The eggs are four in number, nearly alike rounded at either end. Color, 
white, with a bluish tinge, and thickly blotched with chocolate. ‘The nest 
is built either in a tree or hole in a rock, and consists of a few sticks and 
grass loosely put together. 
‘The food of the Sharp-shinned Hawk consists of every animal he is 
capable of capturing, from the common passenger pigeon to insects. Small 
quadrupeds, such as mice and moles, are often taken, and snakes and frogs 
form part of the feast. Little chickens are often captured, and Nuttall 
relates an incident in which one of these birds carried off a chicken before 
his face, while the housewife was endeavoring to frighten it away; and 
also of another, that came every day to a farm-house, and carried offa 
chicken each time, until twenty or thirty were taken. 
In size, there is great variation between the sexes, and also between 
individuals of the same sex. Wilson described the two sexes as different 
species. The tail is long, nearly even at the end. Wings short; tarsi and 
toes very slender, and claws sharp. In the adult, the upper parts are 
dark-brown, approaching to black, with an occasional feather of an ash 
color. Under part light-reddish, darker on the legs, and banded with 
white. Throat and under tail coverts white. Tail, ashy, with four broad 
bands of black, and tipped with white. Wing-quills brownish-black, with 
obscure bands of blackish, and whitish on the inner webs; secondaries 
with whitish spots, concealed when the wing is folded. The young have 
the upper parts brown, with a tinge of ash, and a few white feathers on 
the back part of the neck. Under parts white, with oblong and circular 
spots of brown, and cross-bands of the same on the legs. 
Length of the Female, twelve to fourteen inches; Male, ten to twelve. 
Specimens in the Cleveland Academy Museum. 
Inhabits all North America, from Hudson’s Bay to Texas, Mexico and 
