ill tliiis Stale, and is ol'Leuer met with in tlie inoiiii 

 laiiKiiis and wooded districts tlian elsewheii'. 



ti-EKDS I^RINCIl-ALLY ON B1HU.S. 



Field observations and post-mortem examinations 

 made by numerous naturalists show very conclusively 

 That although llic- l'i}>eoii Hawlc will sometimes de- 

 stroy poultry, tame pij^eons, and even game birds as 

 large as the I'tariiiigan, it jireys mainly on various 

 kinds of small wild birds. 11 sometimes catches in 

 sects, and small quadrupeds. 



The following is taken from my note book in rela 

 tion to a pair of these hawks: Two Pigeon Hawks dur 

 lug the late fall lurked about the southern suburbs of 

 the borough of West Chester, preying at regular inter- 

 vals on the pigeons of a blacksmith. In one week the 

 hawks killed or drove away fifty of these birds. The 

 hawks would enter the boxes and take from them the 

 pigeons. 



DICVOURS MANY BENEFICIAL RIRDS. 



An examination of Dr. Fisher's food-table of this 

 species shows very conclusively that these birds prey 

 on a great varfety of birds, particularly those of the 

 sparrow family. In the stomachs of fifty-one Pigeon 

 hawks mentioned by Dr. Fisher, forty-one contained 

 small birds and of these the following sjiecies were 

 identified: 



Song Sparrow. Swift. 



English Sparr.-.«s. Flicker, 



Indigo Bird, Warblers. 



Field Sparrow. Bobolink, 



Swamp Sparrows. Tree Swallow, 



Chipping Sparrow. Red-eyed Vireus, 



Goldflnchs. Brown Creeper, 



Thrush, Blue-headed Vlreo. 



