217 



lalcoiis; but in recent years, I have never observed at 

 any season of the year, when going over the same 

 route, more than four or five of these birds. 



WHAT OTHER WRITERS HAVE OBSERVED. 



Allen, In his "Ornithological Notes on the Birds of the Great 

 Salt Lake Valley," says: "The Sparrow Hawlc, however, was 

 by far the most numerous of the Falconidae; thirty were seen 

 in the air at one time near the mouth of Weber canon, en- 

 gaged in the capture of the hateful grasshoppers, which seems 

 at this season to form the principal food of this and other 

 birds." Audubon mentions that he had one of these birds 

 tamed. It was allowed its liberty. "In attempting lu sefure a 

 ehiclcen one day, the old hen attacked him with such violence 

 as to cost him his life. ' Dr. Wood says: "When they can- 

 not readily procure their favorite food, mice and small birds 

 are greedily devoured; and, according to a writer in the Amer- 

 ican Naturalist, they are not wholly devoid of the piratical 

 habits of the Bald Eagle. "A tame cat was crossing the 

 street and bearing a large mouse in her mouth; a Sparrow 

 Hawk came flj'ing over, and seeing a mouse in her mouth, 

 made a stidden swoop and tried to seize it with its talons, but 

 did not succeed. The hawk continued its attempts until they 

 reached the opposite side of the street, when the cat disap- 

 peared under the sidewalk.' If it catches a mouse that proves 

 to be lousy and poor, it will leave it and seek another." 



The following quotations from Dr. A. K. Fisher's 

 work (Bull. No. 3, U. S. Agr. Depart.), shows the great 

 fondness this hawk has for insect food: 



"The subject of the food of this hawk is one of great in- 

 terest, and considered in its economic bearings is one that 

 should be carefully studied. The Sparrow Hawk is almost ex- 

 clusively insectivorous, except when insect food is difficult to 

 obtain. In localities where grasshoppers and crickets are 

 abundant these hawks congregate, often in moderate sized 

 flocks, and gorge themselves continuously. Rarely do they 

 touch any other form of food until, either by the advancing 

 season or other natural causes, Uie grasshopper crop is so 

 lessened that their hunger cannot be appeased without undue 

 exertion. Then other kinds of insects and other forms of life 

 contribute to their fare; and beetles, spiders, mice, shrews, 

 small snakes, lizards or even birds may be required to bring 

 up the balance. In snm(> places in the west and SDUth telegraph 

 lines pass for miles through treeless plains and savannas; for 

 lack of better places the Sparrow Hawks often use these poles 

 for resting places, from which they make short trips to pick 

 up a grasshopper or mouse, which they carry back to their 



