398 THE SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 
wings rusty-tinged, finely and irregularly barred with dusky; crissum unmarked, 
or merely touched with rufous; iris, cere, and feet yellow; bill and claws black- 
ish. Females are perhaps less blue above, and duller or paler below. Immature: 
Above dusky brown margined with rufous, concealed white cropping out in 
streaks on forehead and hind neck, and in spots on scapulars, etc.; below streaked 
and spotted instead of barred, with pale browns ( Vandyke brown, Prout’s brown, 
etc.) and dusky, narrowly on cheeks and throat, more broadly on breast and 
sides,—markings pandurate on sides of breast, cordate, tear-shaped, or various 
below, sometimes transverse on flanks and shanks. Between this and the typical 
adult plumage every gradation exists. Rather variable in size, Adult male length 
10.00-12.00 (254.-304.8) ; wing 6.60 (167.6) ; tail 6.00 (152.4); bill from nostril 
40 (10.2). Adult female length 12.50-14.25 (317.5-362.); wing 8.00 (203.2) ; 
tail 7.25 (184.2). 
Recognition Marks.—Little Hawk size; adult transversely barred, young 
heavily streaked, below; barring of under wing surface conspicuous in flight; the 
distinction between the breast patterns of adults and young must be borne clearly 
in mind to avoid confusion. Like next species, but considerably smaller; tail not 
rounded. 
Nest, of sticks, twigs, and dried leaves; in trees at any height, or in hollow 
trees and cliff crannies. Eggs, 2-5, bluish-, greenish-, or grayish-white, lightly 
or heavily spotted, blotched, marbled, or clouded with various shades of brown. 
PNG, SUAS, MWolsg} Be Matter’ ((ZXek6) =: EXO). 
General Range.—North America in general, south to Panama. Breeds 
throughout its North American range. 
Range in Ohio.— ‘Common resident in Northern, less common in Middle 
and Southern Ohio” (Wheaton). 
THE Hawks proper, of which this bird is a typical representative, may 
lack the spectacular wing feats and noble bearing of the Falcons, but they 
are still very bold and rapacious birds. Indeed, it would be hard to picture 
a more alert and blood-thirsty creature than this sharp-taloned little Hawk 
as it scours the brush patches or open fields in search of feathered prey. 
The flight of the Sharp-shin is at times as swift as an arrow and as direct, 
but it is skilled in doubling and twisting, and no bird in the open escapes it 
except by the merest chance. Coming upon a flock of blackbirds, the Hawk 
makes instant choice of a victim and pounces like a flash upon it, either 
snatching it in midair or bearing it to the ground and transfixing it with claws 
which pierce the vitals and cause instant death. If unsuccessful in its first 
attack, the Hawk will retire quickly to thick foliage and await with the 
patience of a statue the first stirrings of the frightened quarry, The prey 
when caught is held at ‘‘arm’s length” until quite dead, and then either eaten 
upon the spot or else carried up to some elevated perch. 
Occasionally one gets a perfect view of a Sharp-shinned Hawk as it 
comes unexpectedly upon you in some woodland opening and takes a curious 
