ANDERSON — THE BIRDS OF IOWA. 257 



grasses, fibrous bark, and a few feathers. The birds hovered near 

 when the nest was disturbed, but did not offer any resistance. 

 Mr. J. W. Preston of Baxter, Iowa, informs me that a pair of these 

 birds remained one season near Iowa City under circumstances 

 which led him to believe they were nesting." Mr. Jones corrob- 

 orates this record in a recent letter. Dr. Tro.stler records the spe- 

 cies as a straggler in Pottawattamie count}-. He says: "I re- 

 moved an egg from a female bird shot near Sioux City some years 

 ago; egg now in the National Museum." 



Currier records it as a common migrant, occasionally seen in 

 winter, in Lee count}-. In Winnebago county I have found it 

 only as a rare migrant, but shot one bird December 18, 1894. 

 Other observers report the Pigeon Hawk only as a spring and fall 

 migrant, usually in March, April, and October. 



157. (358). /'"a/co richardsoni Ridgw. Richardson Merlin. 



The Richardson Merlin \-ery closely resembles the Pigeon Hawk 

 but has a more restricted range in North America and is rare east 

 of the Mississippi. There are only a few casual records from 

 Iowa. It has been taken at West Point and Omaha, Neb., by 

 Bruner (Rev. Bds. Neb., 1903). 



Count}- records: Blackhawk — "an accidental visitor has been 

 recorded from La Porte City, Iowa" (Cooke, Bird Migr. in Miss. 

 Val., 1884-85, 119); "an accidental specimen taken in Blackhawk 

 county by George D. Peck" (Morton E. Peck). Buena Vista — 

 "Storm Lake, Iowa. Frank Bond. Specimen in University mu- 

 .seum" (C. C. Nutting, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., 1892, 41). 



Subgenus Cerchneis Boie. 



158. (360). Falco sparverius Linn. American Sparrow Hawk. 

 The American Sparrow Hawk is a common migrant in all parts 



of the state and somewhat less common as a summer resident , 

 although found nesting in all suitable localities. The ne.st is usu- 

 ally placed in a hollow of a tree or a deserted woodpecker's hole, 

 but Lynds Jones has found them breeding in open nests at Grin- 

 nell, usually old Crows' nests, using very little new material in 

 remodeling the nest (Bendire, Life Hist., 310-11). The Sparrow 

 Hawks arrive from the south in March or April and remain until 

 late in the fall. A male specimen was shot at Iowa City, Novem- 



