218 



perch. At times, when giusshoppeis are abundant, such a line 

 of poles is pretty well occupied by these hawks. 



"A dozen or more stomachs collected by Mr. Charles W. 

 Richmond, in Gallatin county, Montana, during- the latter part 

 of August and early part of September, 1888, ♦ * * contained 

 little else than grasshoppers and crickets." 



GRASSHOPPERS A FAVORITE FOOD. 



"Mr. W. B. Hall, of Wakeman, Ohio, writes: ♦ * * 

 'The Sparrow Hawk is a most persistent enemy of the grass- 

 hopper tribe. While the so-called hawk law was in force in 

 Ohio I was township clerk in my native village and issued cer- 

 tificates to the number of eighty-six, forty-six being for the 

 Sparrow Hawk. I examined the stomachs and found forty- 

 five of them to contain the remains of grasshoppers and the 

 elytra of beetles, while the remaining one contained the fur 

 and bones of a meadow mouse.' " 



"Mr. W. E. Saunders writes from London, Canada: "Spar- 

 row Hawks are one of our best grasshopper destroyers; four 

 out of every five I have killed contained grasshoppers alone.' 

 The following from the pen of Mr. H. W. Henshaw substan- 

 tiates what we have said in regard to its fondness for grass- 

 hoppers: 'It finds * * * an abundant supply of 

 game in the shape of small insectivorous birds, but more es- 

 pecially does its food consist of the various kinds of coleopter- 

 ous insects and grasshoppers, of which it destroys multitudes. 

 In fact, this last item is the most important of all, and where 

 these insects are abundant I have never seen them have re- 

 course to any other kind of food' (Explor. West of 100th Merid., 

 Wheeler, Vol. V, 1875, p. 414)." 



"And subsequently the same author writes: 'The west side 

 of Chewaukan VaTIey has suffered severely from a visitation 

 of that scourge of the western farmer, the grasshoppers. Here 

 in August Sparrow Hawks had assembled in hundreds and 

 were holding high carnival, and although in instances like tlie 

 present their numlbers proved wholly insufficient to coiic 

 against the vast myriads of these destructive insects, yet the 

 work of the Sparrow Hawk is by no means so insignificant 

 that it should not be remembered to his credit and earn him 

 well merited protection. His food consists almost entirely f)f 

 grasshoppers when they are to be had, and as his appetite ap- 

 Ijears never to become satiated, the aggregate in numbers 

 which are annually destroyed by him must be enormous.' (Ap- 

 pendix O. O., of Annual Report of Chief of Eng., U. S. A. for 79, 

 p. 314)." 



"In the vicinity of Washington, D C, remarkable as it may 

 appear to those who have not interested themselves spec'ally 

 in the matter, it is the exception not to find grasshopprs or 

 crickets in the stomach of Sparrow Hawks, even when killed 

 during the months of January and February, unless the ground 

 is covered with snow." 



"It is wonderful how the birds can discover the half-con- 

 oealed semi-dormant insects, which in color so closely resemble 

 the ground or dry grass. Whether they are attracted by a 

 slight movement or distinguish the form of their prey as it slta 



