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NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I, 



THE LARCE-FOOTED HAWK. THE GOS-HAWK. COOPER S HAWK. THE MARSH HAWK, 



THE LARGE-FOOTED HAWK. 

 Falco peregr'tnus. — Gmel. 



Description. — Head and hind neck 

 grayish black, tinged with blue ; the rest 

 of the upper parts dark bluish gray, indis- 

 tinctly barred with deep brown. Quills 

 blackish brown, with elliptical reddish 

 white spots on their inner webs. Tail 

 grayish brown, marked with about twelve 

 bars. Throat and fore neck white ; a 

 broad band of blackish blue from the an- 

 gle of the mouth downwards ; sides, 

 breast and thighs reddish white, trans- 

 versely marked with dark brown spots in 

 a longitudinal series ; under wing feath- 

 ers whitish, transversely barred. Bill 

 blackish blue at the tip, pale green at the 

 base ; cere oil green ; bare orbital space 

 orange ; iris hazel ; feet lemon yellow ; 

 claws brownish black. Length 16.;^ in. ; 

 spread of the wings 30 inches. — Jiudubnn. 



HisToKv. — This hawk is common to 

 both the eastern and western continents. 

 It is found in most parts of the United 

 States, and, according to Audubon, has, 

 within a few years, become much more 

 common than formerly. I am not sure 

 that any of this species have been taken 

 in Vermont, but, from their being com- 

 mon in ncigiiboring states, the probabili- 

 ty of their existence here is so strong that 

 1 have thought it best to place it in my 

 list. According to Nuttall it builds its 

 iiest in the most inaccessible clefts of 

 rocks, and lays 3 or 4 eggs, which are of 

 a reddish yellow color, spotted with 

 brown. 



THE GOS HAWK. 

 Falco ■palumharivs. — Li5.t. 



Description. — Adult male, dark blu- 

 i-sh gray above ; the tail with four broad 

 bands of blackish brown ; the upper part 

 of the head grayish black ; a white band, 

 with black lines, over the eyes ; lower 

 parts white, narrowly barred with gray, 

 and longitudinally streaked with dark 

 brown. Youngs brown above ; the feath- 

 ers edged with reddisli white ; the head 

 and hind neck pale red, streaked with 

 blackish brown ; the lower parts yellow- 

 ish white, with oblong longitudinal dark 

 brown spots. Length 24 inches ; spread 

 of the wings 47 — Aiuhihon. 



HiSTORV. — This hawk is rare in Ver- 

 mont, but is sometimes met with in the 

 northern part of the state. Tlie Gos- 

 Hawk in Europe is sometimes trained for 

 falconry. Its disposition is very savage, 

 and it is withal so much of a cannibal as 

 sometimes to devour its own young. 



Their ordinary food consists of }^oung 

 hares, squirrels, young geese, partridges, 

 pigeons, and other smaller birds and quad- 

 rupeds. It builds its nest in the manner 

 of the crow, in the central part of the top 

 of a high tree. Its eggs, usually 3 or 4, 

 are of a bluish white, marked and spotted 

 with brown. 



COOPER'S HAWK. 



Falco Cooperi. — Bonap. 



Description. — Tail rounded ; tarsi mod- 

 erately stout. Adult vtale, dull bluish 

 gray above; the tail with four broad bands 

 of blackish brown, and tipped with white ; 

 upper part of the head grayish black ; 

 lower ])arts transversely liarred with light 

 red and white ; the throat white, longitu- 

 dinally streaked Female similar, with the 

 bands rin the breast broader. Young, \im- 

 ber brown above, more or less spotted 

 with white; the tail with four blackish 

 brown bars ; lower parts white ; each 

 feather with a longitudinal, narrow, ob- 

 long brown spot. Length, male 20 in., 

 female 22, — spread 36, 38. — ^Jud. Legs 

 and feet yellow; cere greenish yellow; 

 iris bright yellow. Tail reaches o inches 

 beyond the folded wing. — JVuttall. 



History. — This is quite a common 

 hawk in Vermont, and, with several oth- 

 ers, passes under the general name of 

 Hen Hawk. Nor is the name in this case 

 inappropriate, since this hawk, mort; fre- 

 quently perha])s than any other, bears off 

 hens and chickens from the farm yard. 

 This hawk breeds in this state, and its 

 nest, according to Audubon, is usually 

 placed in the forks of the branch of an 

 oak, towards the top, and resembles that 

 of the crow, being composed of crooked 

 sticks, lined with grass and a few feath- 

 ers. But that they do not build upon trees 

 exclusively appears from tlie fact that a 

 nest of this hawk, containing two eggs, 

 was found, a few years ago, by George 

 H. Peck, Esq., built upon the ground, in 

 Burlington. The eggs are usually 3 or4, 

 almost globular, large for the size of the 

 bird, of a dull, white color, strongly gran- 

 ulated and rough. 



THE MARSH HAWK. 

 Falco cyaneus. — Linn. 

 Description. — Color of the male blu- 

 ish gray ; quill feathers white at their ori- 

 gin, and black towards the extremities; 

 internal base of the wing-s, rump, belly, 

 sides, thighs, and beneath the tail, white, 

 without spots; upper part of the tail cin- 

 ereous gray ,with ends of the feathers wlii- 



