CHAPTER VI. 



January 29 February 4. 



THE AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. 



Order Raptores Suborder Falcones 



Family Falconidse Sub-family Falconinse 



Genus Falco Subgenus Tinnunculus 



Species Falco sparverius 



Length 8.75 to 12.00; wing, 6.55 to 8.15; tail, 4.20 to 5.60. 

 Migration North, February ; south, November. 



"The wild hawk's shadow fleets across the grass, 

 Its softened gray the softened green outvying; 



And fair scenes, fairer grow while they pass, 

 As breezes freshen when the day is dying." 



There are about a dozen species and sub-species of spar- 

 row hawks. Two of them, the Cuban and American, are found 

 in North America. West of the Rocky Mountains a slightly 

 different sub-species of the American is found, known as the 

 Desert sparrow hawk; and in Lower California still another 

 called the St. Lucas sparrow hawk. Next to the Cuban spar- 

 row hawk, the American is the smallest and it is the handsom- 

 est of our diurnal raptores. 



The bill of the adult male of this species is short, blue, tipped 

 with black; iris of the eye, ochraceous-yellow ; top of head, 

 slaty-blue with a chestnut patch in the midde of the crown ; 

 crescent back of neck, black ; hind neck, back and rump, light 

 rufous ; wing coverts, ashy-blue with or without black spots ; 



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