244 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



appeared. I saw the bird many times and once while fishing it 

 came and sat within twenty yards of me, so I positively identi- 

 fied it. The stream running about east and west, it ranged in 

 Van Buren and Henry counties, four and one-half miles north 

 and a little east of Hillsboro " (W. G. Savage). Webster — "a 

 specimen was seen around Buncombe's Stucco Mill (Ft. Dodge) 

 nearly every day, and I finally shot him a mile further down the 

 stream (Des Moines River); length 14.5 inches; dark bluish, gray- 

 ish to slate color; tail nearly black " (Somes). Woodbury — "ac- 

 cording to D. H. Talbot, formerly visited this county" (Rich). 



Genus Circus Lacepede. 



137. (331). Circus hudsoni us {L,mn.). Marsh Hawk. 



The Marsh Hawk or Harrier is a common summer resident in 

 most parts of the state, nesting most frequently in northern Iowa, 

 and is given as a rare winter resident in Lee county (Currier). 

 It is a low-flying Hawk, hovering low over the meadows, and 

 may be identified by the conspicuous white rump. Its food con- 

 .sists almost entirely of field mice and gophers or ground squirrels, 

 of which it kills large numbers. C. F. Henning states that the 

 stomach and throat of a Marsh Hawk collected Oct. 20, 1890, 

 contained three adult and eight young field mice. Small birds 

 are very .seldom molested and Mr. J. W. Preston notes a female 

 Marsh Hawk and a Prairie Hen incubating their eggs on nests 

 not eight feet apart (Bendire, Life Hist., 91). 



In Winnebago and Hancock counties the Marsh Hawk arrives 

 about the middle of March and leaves the la.st of November. I 

 have found nests from May 13 to June 2, placed on dry ground 

 on the open prairie, either meadows or hillsides, in brushy clear- 

 ings, or over open water in sloughs ; eggs three to five ; pale blue, 

 normally unspotted. 



Dr. A. K. Fisher states: "Of 124 stomachs examined, 7 con- 

 tained poultry or game birds; 34, other birds; 57, mice; 22, other 

 mammals; 7, reptiles; 2, frogs; 14, insects; i , indeterminate mat- 

 ter, and 8 were empty " (Hawks and Owls of the U. S., 27). 



Genus Accipiter Brisson. 



138. (332). Accipiter velox {V\[\\s.). Sharp-shinned Hawk. 

 This small and dashing Hawk is a common spring and fall 



