FALCONS, HAWKS, EAGLES, ETC. 211 



m 



"Of 56 stomachs examined, 3 contained poultry; 41, small birds; 

 2, mice ; 16, insects ; and 5 were empty " (Fisher). 



The Merlin (S58.1. Falco regulus) and the Kestrel {859.1. Falco tinnun- 

 culus)., both Old- World species, have each been recorded once from this side 

 of the Atlantic, the Merlin from Greenland, the Kestrel from Massachusetts 

 (Cory, Auk, v, 1888, pp. 110, 205;. 



360. Falco sparverius Linn. American Sparrow Hawk. Ad. 6 . 

 — Back rufous, more or less barred with black ; tail rufous, a black band near 

 its end, the tip white ; head slaty blue, with generally a rufous spot on the 

 crown ; wing-coverts slaty blue, primaries barred with white ; a black mark 

 before and behind the wJute ear-coverts ; under parts varying from cream- 

 buff to ochraceous-bulf; belly and sides spotted with black. Ad. ?. — Back, 

 tail, and wing-coverts rufous, barred with black ; head as in the male ; under 

 parts more or less heavily streaked with dark ochraceous-butf. Im. — Closely 

 resemble the adults. L., 10-00 ; W., 7-30 ; T., 4-80 ; B. from N., -45. 



Range. — Breeds from Florida to Hudson Bay, and winters from New Jer- 

 sey southward. 



Washington, common W. V., rare S. K. Sing Sing, rather rare P. K. 

 Cambridge, rather common S. R., Feb. to Nov. 



Neat., in a hole in a tree, frequently in a Woodpecker's deserted nest. 

 Eggs., three to seven, varying from creamy white to rufous, generally finely 

 and evenly marked with shades of the ground color, 1-40 x 1-12. 



An old stub or branchless trunk of a dead tree standing well out 

 in a field is the kind of perch the Sparrow Hawk most frequently 

 chooses. From this lookout, like a Loggerhead Shrike, he awaits the 

 appearance of game below. Generally it is a grasshopper which falls 

 his victim. When he detects one, he flies directly over it and poises 

 on hovering wings until the right opportunity offers, when he drops 

 lightly downward, clutches his prey in his talons, and then returns to 

 his perch to devour it at leisure. 



The Sparrow Hawk's call is a rather high, quickly repeated killy- 

 hilly-kiUy-killy, which in some sections gives it the name of " Killy 

 Hawk." 



" Of 320 stomachs examined, 1 contained a game bird ; 53, other 

 birds; 89, mice: 12, other mammals; 12, reptiles or batrachians; 215, 

 insects ; 29, spiders; and 29 were empty" (Fisher). 



The Cuban Sparrow Hawk (361. Falco sparverioides) is of accidental oc- 

 currence in the Florida Keys. It has two color phases; in one, the under 

 parts, including the under wing-coverts, are white; in the other, these parts 

 are rufous. 



362. Polyborus cheriway (Jacg.). Audubon's Caracara. Ad.— 

 Face bare; crown, lower back, wings, and belly black; throat bufty ; nape, 

 interscapulars, and breast barred with black and butfy ; tail white, barred 



