THE SPARRO W HA WK. 205 



with bill and claw, he swallows, with vigorous jerks of the 

 head, nearly whole. Again he is off, and after hovering 

 several times, spends some time on the ground, devouring 

 something as I can plainly see by his actions, made clear by 

 the glass; probably he is now varying his diet with some 

 kind of insects, of which he consumes great numbers, 

 especially such orthoptera as are most noxious to the hus- 

 bandman. Remaining now longer than usual on his perch, 

 he jerks his tail every few seconds, as if decidedly impatient 

 of this long quiet. Now he flies almost towards me, and 

 dashing into a thicket by the road-side, emerges with a 

 small Sparrow in his clutches, thus proving himself true to 

 his name. The flight is within close range of a shot-gun, 

 and, much as this elegant and useful little Falcon merits 

 human protection, I reflect that all things even birds are 

 made for man, and so drawing the lock on him bring him 

 down, the Field Sparrow still in his clutches. It is a male, 

 some 10 inches long and 21 inches in extent (the smallest 

 of our Hawks); the bill is particularly pointed and toothed; 

 the top of his crown is reddish-chestnut, bordered with 

 slaty, mixed with black; a streak from below the eye down 

 the side of the throat, one across the tips of the ear- 

 feathers, a spot on the side of the neck, and a bordering of 

 the slaty behind the neck, black making seven black 

 marks about the head; back and scapulars reddish-brown, 

 crossed with broken lines of black; wings slaty with black 

 spots; the primaries dusky, with white spots on the inner 

 vanes; tail reddish-brown, with a broad, sub- terminal band 

 of black and a slight tip of white, the outer feathers being 

 marked with black and white; under parts reddish-white, 

 with a few roundish spots of black mostly towards the 

 sides; bill, blue; cere and legs, yellow. The female of this 

 species is about an inch longer; the chestnut-red on the 



