208 



FLAYED HAVOC WITH TERNS. 



Dr. O. Hart Merriam (Birds of Conn,, 1877, p. 82,) re- 

 ferrinj^j to a Duck Hawk which was shot on Falkner 

 island, Connecticut, says: 



"During her brief visit she had made sad havoc aniung the 

 terns, and her crop was greatly distended with their re- 

 mains, which had been swallowed in incredibly large pieces; 

 whole legs, and long bones of the wings were found entire 

 and unbroken; indeed she was perfectly gorged, and contained 

 the remains of at least two terns, besides a mass of newly- 

 hatched young." 



KILLS WILD FOWL. 



1 have seen this species catch the Coot (Fulica) and 

 a Wood Duck on the Susquehanna river. Audubon 

 says: 



"He pursues the smaller ducks, water hens and other swim- 

 ming birds, and if they are not quick in diving it seizes them 

 and rises with them from the water. I have seen this hawk 

 come at the report of a gun and carry off a teal not thirty 

 steps distant from the sportsman who had killed it, with 

 a daring assurance as surprising as unexpected. This con- 

 duct has been observed by many individuals, and is a chai- 

 acteristic trait of this species. The largest bird that I 

 have seen this hawk attack and grapple with on the win« 

 is the mallard. 



"The Duck Hawk does not. liowcver, euntent himself with 

 water fowl. He is generally seen following the flocks of 

 pigeons, and even blackbirds, • causing great terror in their 

 ranks, and forcing them to perform aerial evolutions to escape 

 the grasp of his dreaded talons. For several days I watched 

 one of them that had taken a particular fancy to some tame 

 pigeons, to secure which it went so far as to enter their house 

 at one of the holes, seize a bird, and issue by another hole in 

 an instant, causing such terror among the rest as to render me 

 fearful that they would abandon the place. However, I for- 

 tunately shot the depredator. They occasionally feed on dead 

 fish that have floated to the shores or sand bars."— Audubon. 



r liave examined but three of these hawks; the* 

 stomachs of two were destitute of food materials, the 

 other contained a few feathers of a domestic pigeon. 



THEY PREY ON SONG BIRDS. 



Dr. Fisher's report shows that of twenty stomachs 

 of Duck Hawks examined, not less than four-fifths, or 



