300 
This hawk is considered by many authors as identical with the Gos- 
hawk of Europe—A. palumbarius—but Cassin considers that they are quite 
distinct. Audubon was of a different ce while T'emminck and Bona- 
parte agree with Cassin. 
When Prof. Kirtland, in 1838, wrote his Report on Birds for the Ohio 
Geological Survey, he added this bird to our fauna, on the authority of 
Audubon, who stated that they were numerous in Kentucky during the 
winter; also, in Indiana and Pennsylvania, and at Niagara. Of course, 
they must necessarily occur in Ohio. They breed north of the Lakes, and 
pass southward in the fall, returning again in the spring. They are very 
rapid and powerful fliers, pursuing the flocks of wild pigeons, and captu 
ring the birds with ease. The Goshawk is large and powerful, and was 
used for capturing game in Europe when falconry was a noble sport. Our 
American species flies at, and kills rabbits, squirrels, and all kinds of land 
and water fowl under the size of a goose. They carry off chickens and 
ducks from the farm-yard, and are looked upon with justice as vermin of 
the worst kind. 
In size, this hawk is large, but rather slender in form; wings short, but 
the tail large, which it uses greatly in changing its course when flying. 
In the adult, the upper part of the head, back of the neck, and a stripe 
behind the eye, is black, mixed with ash color. The rest of the upper 
parts cinereous. A stripe of white above the eye, and a slight collar on 
the back of the neck, of the same color. Abdomen, and entire under 
parts, white, each feather having a longitudinal line of brownish black, 
and a few irregular bands of greyish brown. The quills of the wings 
brown, with darker bands, the inner webs mottled with white. ‘Tail, dark 
brownish-erey, with irregular bands of black, and tipped with white; 
under-side whitish; under tail-coverts pure white. In the young, the head 
and upper-parts are dark-brown, mixed with reddish. The under-parts 
white, tinged with reddish-yellow, and marked with large oval and round 
spots of brown. 
Dimensions—Female, tweny-two to twenty-four inches in length. 
Male, nineteen to twenty inches. 
GENUs ACCIPITER— Brisson. 
The generic characters are similar to those of the preceding genus, but 
the species are smaller and more slender. The fourth wing-quill is the 
longest, but shorter than in Astur. Tail also long; tarsi long and slender, 
