THE SPARROW HAWK 169 



Fig-. 68. The Sparrow Hawk. 



Subgenus Cerchnds Bole. 



21. FALCO SPARVERIUS SPARVERIUS Linnaeus. 360. 

 Sparrow Hawk. Mouse Hawk. 



Field Characters. The smallest and most highly colored of our 

 Iowa hawks. Wings pointed; sides of head with conspicuous black 

 patches ; body and tail above showing much rusty red ; spotted below 

 with black. 



Description. Male, above slate-blue, usually with rusty red 

 crown ; back reddish with black bars. Tail, rusty red with one black 

 bar near the white tip. Wings above slaty-blue ; the flight feathers 

 barred with white. Two vertical black marks on each side of head. 

 Below slightly buffy with black spots on sides and belly. Female, 

 with head much as in the male, the rest of the upper parts reddish 

 with black bars. Below streaked with dusky buff. 



Measurements. Length, 9 to 12 inches ; wing, 7 to 8 inches ; tail, 

 4.50 to 5.50 inches. 



Range. East of the Rocky Mountains in North America, breed- 

 ing commonly, but rarely wintering in Iowa. 



This handsome little Falcon, least but most desirable of all our true 

 Falconidae, is a familiar and comparatively abundant species. Fre- 

 quenting prairies where stand occasional Cotton-wood snags, or the 



