THE PIGEON HAWK. 
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IF a scrutiny of all little hawks is maintained thruout the year, and with 
special diligence in winter and early spring, the search will be rewarded now 
and then by the sight of a bird whose movement is a little more rapid and 
dashing than that of the ubiquitous Sparrow Hawk. The wings seem to 
reach forward with a stroke like that of a strong swimmer; and, alto- 
gether, there is an air of indefinable quality and power about the diminutive 
Pigeon Hawk, which does not pertain to his less spirited cousin. Not 
content with the humble quarry which usually satisfies the commoner species, 
this little winged terror makes havoc among the Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, 
and smaller songsters. Himself not larger than a full-sized pigeon, the 
Hawk sometimes pursues a Mourning Dove with relentless fury, and easily 
overtakes this fleet bird, unless it finds cover or the protection of man. 
The audacious creature has even been credited with killing Ptarmigan, and 
it sometimes attacks sea-fowl of thrice its weight, thru sheer exuberance 
of spirits. 
Now and then, also, one comes upon the Pigeon Hawk seated at rather 
close quarters; for it is less suspicious than most, and it hails from 
northern wilds or mountain fastnesses which do not know the fear of 
man. At such a time one is struck by the quaint, almost antique, appearance 
of the tawny breast with its heavy umber streaks; and the glaucous bloom 
of the upperparts might have come from my lady’s cheek when she went 
hawking, centuries ago. In the hand, the round white spots, which sprinkle 
the feathers lining the bird’s wings, make it seem still more like a product 
of curious medizeval art. 
“Altho the well known Pigeon Hawk is pretty generally distributed 
over the entire United States during the fall and winter seasons, by far 
the greater number breed north of our border, and comparatively few 
remain as summer residents, at least east of the Mississippi River, and 
those that do, generally confine themselves to the mountain districts andl 
to the thinly settled and heavily wooded regions along our Northern 
States. In the Rocky Mountains, as well as in the Sierra Nevada and 
Cascade Ranges, and their spurs, the Pigeon Hawk is probably quite a 
common summer resident, but as yet its nest and eggs have been rarely 
taken, and even where they have been found, there remains more or less 
doubt as to their proper identification, as the two closely allied forms, 
Falco columbarius suckleyi and Falco richardsonii occur in some of these 
mountains as well, and are very liable to be mistaken for the true Pigeon 
Hawk, even by fairly well posted ornithologists, and almost certainly by 
the average collector.” (Bendire. ) 
