348 
slightly rounded. The color of the adult male is of a bluish slate on the 
upper parts, each feather with a black stripe; under-parts yellowish or red- 
dish white, each feather also lined with a blackish stripe. ‘Throat and fore- 
head white; feathers of the legs light reddish. Quills of the wings black, 
with bands of white on their inner webs, and tipped with whitish. Tail 
on the upper side bluish gray, tipped with white, and a broad subtermi- 
nal band of black, with several smaller bands of the same color towards 
the rump; and inner webs white; feet and cere yellow; bill blue. Less 
mature specimens have the upper parts brownish-black, and the under side 
of a deeper reddish yellow. The longitudinal stripes brownish, and the 
tail with four bars of white; while still younger birds have the forehead 
and under parts white, with the dark stripe on each feather, and the upper 
parts brown, but lighter than the last, and the tail with six white bars. 
The bars are variable. Length of female thirteen to fourteen inches; male 
ten to twelve. 
Specimens in the Cleveland Academy of Natural Sciences. 
RU GENus TINNUNCULUS— Veellot. 
The individuals composing this subdivision of the typical falcons, are of 
small size, with the tarsi and toes rather long and slender. The bill is 
short, hooked, and the upper mandible has always a distinct tooth. The 
head rather large, the claws are very sharp. Wings long and pointed, and 
the tail rather long. 
Only one species indigenous to the United States. 
TINNUNCULUS SPARVERIUS—/inn—THE SPARROW-HAWK. 
Wilson’s Am. Orn., IL, pl. 16, fig. 1, and IV., pl. 32, fig. 2; Audobon’s 
mor Am.,"Oct: ed.) Fpl? 22. 
This pretty little hawk is found in every part of the States, and is quite 
common in Ohio, It cannot be considered as an injurious bird, but rather 
the contrary, as it feeds on mice, small snakes, crickets, grasshoppers, 
and other insects, and occasionally small birds. In its wild state, it has 
never been observed to attack poultry, however young, although a tame 
specimen in the possession of Audubon lost its life by attacking a brood of 
chickens, the old hen putting him hors du combat. 
In selecting a place for their nest, the birds usually take possession 
of the deserted hole of a woodpecker. The eggs are from five to seven, 
of a nearly round form, color deep buff, covered with blotches of brown 
