32 AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. 



parts of the same tint, each feather being streaked down the centre with 

 a long black drop, those on the breast slender, on the sides larger ; upper 

 part of the back and scapulars deep reddish bay, marked with ten or 

 twelve transverse waves of black ; whole wing-coverts, and ends of the 

 secondaries, bright slate, spotted with black ; primaries and upper half 

 of the secondaries black, tipped with white, and spotted, on their inner 

 vanes with the same ; lower part of the back, the rump and tail-coverts, 

 plain bright bay ; tail rounded, the two exterior feathers white, their 

 inner vanes beautifully spotted with black ; the next bright bay, with a 

 broad band of black near its end, and tipped for half an inch with yel- 

 lowish white, part of its lower exterior edge white, spotted with black, 

 and its opposite interior edge touched with white ; the whole of the 

 others are very deep red bay, with a single broad band of black near 

 the end, and tipped with yellowish white ; cere and legs yellow, orbits 

 the same, bill light blue ; iris of the eye dark, almost black, claws blue 

 black. 



The character of this corresponds with that of the female, given at 

 large in the preceding article. I have reason, however, to believe, that 

 these birds vary considerably in the color and markings of their plumage 

 during the first and second years ; having met with specimens every way 

 corresponding with the above, except in the breast, which was a plain 

 rufous white, without spots ; the markings on the tail also differing a 

 little in different specimens. These I uniformly found on dissection to 

 be males ; from the stomach of one of which I took a considerable part 

 of the carcass of a robin ( Turdus rm'gratorius,) including the unbroken 

 feet and claws ; though the robin actually measures within half an inch 

 as long as th« Sparrow Hawk. 



Note. — This species is very common among the cotton plantations of 

 Georgia and East Florida. From the island of Cuba we received a living 

 specimen, which differed in no respect from the same species in the 

 United States. 



