Descriptive List 173 



observed adult Bald Eagles near Raleigh, and the State Museum has specimens 

 from Cabarrus, Wake, and Johnston counties, besides a number from the east. Mr. 

 F. P. Latham, of Belhaven, shot one in February, 1914, while feeding on a lamb it 

 had killed. On the authority of Cairns, we may regard it as a rare resident in the 

 mountains. 



31. FAMILY FALCONID/E. THE FALCONS AND CARACARAS 



This family contains hawk-like birds with long pointed \vings, possessing remark- 

 able powers of flight, and including those most used in the knightly sport of fal- 

 conry. 



Genus Falco (Linn.) 



KEY TO SPECIES 



1. Wing more than 12.00. Duck Hawk. 



1. Wing less than 12.00. See 2. 



2. Back bluish-gray or Ijrown. Pigeon Hawk. 



2. Back tawny, with or without black crossbars. Sparrow Hawk. 



156. Falco peregrinus anatum {Bonap.). Duck Hawk. 



De.icription. — Blackish ash above, the top of head darker; whitish below; cheeks with black 

 patches; underparts very dark, feathers margined with rufous, in young barred with black. 

 L., 15.50 to 20.00; W., 12..50 to 14.00; T., 6.50 to 8.00. 



Range. — North and South America, breeding locally. 



Range in North Carolina. — So far, only recorded from Buncombe and Surrj' counties. 



The Duck Hawk, the American representative of the celebrated Peregrine Fal- 

 con, the "Falcon" par excellence of the old hawking days, is a rare bird in the 

 State, as in fact it seems to be in many other parts of the country. 



In the Ornithologist and Oologist for February, 1889, Cairns writes of one which 

 he saw carry off a chicken near Asheville. He further states that it is "seen occa- 

 sionally during the summer months." Pearson found a pair haunting the crags 

 of the "pinnacle" of Pilot Mountain, Surry County, in May, 1892, but a diligent 

 search failed to reveal a nest on any of the accessible cliffs. 



The eggs are laid on cliffs, little if any nest being constructed, and are generally 

 four in numlier, often so heavily marked as to conceal the ground-color. Size 

 2.10 X 1.60. 



Bendire, in Life Histories of North American Birds, says: "Its flight, when 

 once fairly started in pursuit of its quarry, is amazingly swift; it is seemingly an 

 easy matter for it to overtake even the fleetest of birds, and when once in its grasp 

 resistance is useless. I have seen this falcon strike a Cinnamon Teal almost \vithin 

 gunshot of me, kill it, apparently instantly, from the force of the shock, and fly 

 away with it as easily and without visible struggle as if it had been a sparrow 

 instead of a bird of its own weight." 



157. Falco columbarius columbarius {Linn.). Pigeon Hawk. 



Descriplion. — Adult male Ijluish gray above; adult female and young brownish above; tail 

 barred with black above in male, with lighter in female and young. Underparts wliitish or buffv, 

 streaked with dusky. L., 11.00 to 1:3.00; W., 7.30 to 8.30; T., 5.00 to 6.00. 



Range. — Whole of North America, breeding mainly north of the United States. 



Range in North Carolina. — Known only as an occasional transient at Raleigh and in Buncombe 

 County. 



