Falco Columbarius, Linne. 



THE PIGEON HAWK; MERLIN; "LITTLE CORPORAL." 

 PLATE n. 



This beautiful little Falcon is that described by Wilson and 

 subsequent American writers generally, as the Falco Cohnnbariits ; 

 by Swainson as the Falco acsalon ; and by Audubon, Falco tciiicr- 

 aritis, or " Little Corporal." It inhabits not only the whole of 

 the Canadas, but likewise the fur countries to a very high latitude, 

 the States on the Adantic, and the entire coast of the possessions 

 of the United States on the Pacific Ocean. Consequently the 

 species may correctly be said to be distributed over the whole of 

 North America, excepting the extreme Arctic regions. We have 

 met with it on every expedition, and in every locality visited 

 between Fort William on Lake Superior, and the Gulf of the St. 

 Lawrence ; and between this river and its Great Lakes, and the 

 height of land to the northward. But although everywhere met 

 with it nowhere can be said to be numerous, and no great number 

 of sjDecimens have )et been obtained during any one summer. The 

 numbers, however, vary considerably in different years ; a fact 

 which is also true of most of the other species of the Falconid^e. 

 The Pigeon Hawk is subject to great variations in plumage, and 

 therefore it is not surprising to find it described under a variety 

 of names in ornithological works. Specimens in our collections of 

 immature individuals show almost unaccountable diversities, not 

 only in the style of coloring, but likewise in dimensions ; some of 

 these bearing a striking resemblance to the Accipiter fuscus, Bon., 

 or Sharp-shinned Hawk. According to Cassin, however, there 

 are three well defined stages. Of these the adult is. easily distin- 

 guished and is very nearly as figured by Audubon under the name 

 Falco tcmerarius. but of the other two plumages it is difficult at 

 present to determine which is the more mature. These three 

 stages are easily discernible in our collection of Pigeon Hawks. 

 That of the adult, however, is the least frequently occurring form, 

 and may be given as one bird in twenty. What I consider to be 

 the second stage, or that intermediate between the bird of the first 



