414 Shbbman, .y<>-.' /..;'< .>/."'< Sparrow Ihiwk. [f^ 



longest interval being three hours and forty-three minutes, and the 

 shortest twenty-three minutes. 'Phis refers to food thai was 



brought Into the tree, not to the nest, for the female frequently ate 

 the game brought in. For example on June 28, she ate three birds, 

 and was absent five times, which altogether amounted in duration 

 to two hours and twenty minutes, when she may have eaten several 

 other birds. The notes for that day show that the prey was: in 

 the forenoon at 8.1S o'clock, a bird, which was eaten by the mother 

 Hawk, as likewise was the bird brought at 10.07; at 1 L30, a bird, 

 taken to the nest, and in the afternoon at 3.01 o'clock, a meadow 

 mouse, taken to the nest; at 4.00, a bird, eaten by the mother: at 

 6 55, a meadow mouse, which was taken to the nest as was the 

 sparrow brought in at 7.17 o'clock. It is most likely that the father 

 Hawk brought a piece of game early in the morning, and another 

 pieee about one o'clock in the afternoon, when for an hour observa- 

 tions were suspended. At noon that day the aggregate weight of 

 the four hawklets was 7648 grains, and it was 8166 grains at half 

 past seven in the evening, a difference of 518 grains, the known 

 supply of food having been two meadow mice and one small 

 Sparrow. In the forenoon o( June 25 there was brought to the 

 young three half-grown ground squirrels and a bird. 



At different times the character o( the game varied; for a time 

 nothing but ground squirrels was seen, followed by two days and a 

 half when, excepting one squirrel, birds only were brought in. ami 

 this was succeeded by a similar period when only meadow mice 

 were seen. It would appear from this that the male Hawk found 

 a brood of young birds or mammals and hunted in their neighbor- 

 hood until he had exterminated the whole brood. Confirmatory 



of this was a succession of four birds about equal in site, whose 

 bodies resembled in shape those of young Brown Thrashers or 

 Robins just out of the nest. After .bine 1 1 the identified quarry 



consisted of seventeen birds and nineteen mammals; of the latter 



eight were meadow mice and the rest ground squirrels. Besides 

 these there were nine unidentified pieces, several of them appar- 

 ently insects, that were U\\ the young after they left the nest. 

 The tarsi of the eight bird victims found in the nest were sent to 

 Washington, D. C, where Mr. K. K. kahnhaeh and Mr. H. C, 

 Oberholser very kindly identified them for me. Six o( the eight 

 were pronounced to belong to sparrows. 



