FALCONS : Family Falconidae [ *99 1 



from Gulf States, Mexico, and Lower California south to Central America. In 

 Oregon: Uncommon summer resident throughout State. Arrives in April and remains 

 until October. 



THE OSPREY, or Fish Hawk (Plate 31, 5), formerly common along the 

 Columbia and Willamette Rivers, in the Klamath basin, and about the 

 larger Cascade lakes, must now be considered one of the rarer Oregon 

 hawks. It is still present in the Klamath basin but in sadly diminished 

 numbers. A few are found along the coast, and scattered pairs occur 

 along the larger streams, such as the Rogue, the Umpqua, the Deschutes, 

 the John Day, and the Columbia Rivers. Throughout the State, how- 

 ever, it is now an uncommon summer resident that arrives in April and 

 remains until October (earliest date, March 30, Deschutes County; latest, 

 October 15, Union County). 



Townsend (1839) included it in his list of birds found in the "Territory 

 of Oregon." Newberry (1857) found it common in all parts of the State 

 visited by him, including the Cascades, the Klamath Lakes, the Willam- 

 ette Valley, and the Columbia River. Bendire (1877) reported it as a 

 rare breeder in Harney Valley, and both Mearns (1879) an d Merrill (1888) 

 considered it common about Fort Klamath. Many years later Applegate 

 (1905^ found it still common in the same territory, a condition that 

 unfortunately no longer exists. 



In many sections of the Atlantic Coast, Ospreys are protected and even 

 provided with nest sites by the farmers, but in Oregon, like all other 

 hawks, they are killed at every opportunity, both by farmer boys and 

 those sportsmen who begrudge them the few fish they consume. These 

 birds do feed on fish obtained by diving into the lakes and streams, but 

 needless to say, such species as suckers and carp are captured much more 

 frequently than more valuable fish. Certainly, the few trout or game 

 fish they take in no wise justify the persecution to which the birds are 

 subjected in the State. 



Falcons: Family Falconidae 



Gyrfalcon: 



Falco rusticolus obsoletus Gmelin 



DESCRIPTION. "Adults: Top of head largely streaked with white; anterior upper 

 parts barred with grayish or whitish and darker- tail strongly banded; flanks and 

 thighs more or less marked with slaty. Young: upper parts much spotted with white 

 or buffy; under parts with dark stripes usually narrower than white interspaces. 

 Male: length 2.0-1.1, wing 14.10, tail 8.51, bill .90, tarsus 1.40. Female: length 

 11.00-14.50, wing 15.76, tail 9.72., bill i.oi, tarsus 1.46." (Bailey) 

 DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds in northern North America from Point Barrow to 

 Labrador and wanders south to northern States in winter. In Oregon: Rare strag- 

 gler known from three records only. 



