118 



GENERA ACCIPITER AND ASTUR. ACCIPITERS. SHORT-WINGED HAWKS. 



General Description. Hawks with short rounded wings and long tail. 



The Accipitrine Hawks are woodland birds which beat about the tree 

 tops or along the edges of the woods; they do not habitually soar high in the 

 open. They take their prey by surprise and quick attack rather than by 

 open pursuit. Their short wings and long tail, giving rapid bursts of speed 

 and quite flexible evolution, are well adapted for such manoeuvres but not 

 suited to sustained effort. 



Economic Status. These are the only common species of Canadian 

 Hawks for which little good can be claimed. They are active and spirited 

 and though without the great strength and endurance of the true Falcons 

 do far more real damage than their larger and heavier relatives. The 

 term "Chicken Hawk" popularly applied to any small Hawk receives its 

 meaning from these birds. They never eat carrion but always make fresh 

 kills, rarely if ever returning to partly devoured prey. Fortunately the 

 two commonest species are the smaller and their capacity for damage is 

 reduced in consequence. The one large and powerful member of the group, 

 the Goshawk, is of more limited distribution and except in occasional 

 winters is rarely seen in the more settled parts of southern Canada. 



332. Sharp-shinned Hawk. CHICKEN HAWK. FR. L'EPERVIER BRUN. Accipiter 

 velox. L, 11-25. Plate XII A. 



Distribution. As a rule, size will distinguish the Sharp-shinned Hawk from all except 

 the Sparrow Hawk, but its evident non-falcon characters will prevent confusion. A large 

 female will measure closely to a small male Cooper's Hawk of which it is a perfect minia- 

 ture in coloration. It differs from that species in having a square instead of a rounded 

 tail, when closed the outer feathers being quite as long as the inner ones instead of obviously 

 shorter. The tarsus is also comparatively thinner and more slender, a difference that is 

 quite perceptible on comparison of specimens. 



Field Marks. The short, round wings, long tail, and flight by a series of alternating 

 quick even strokes and short sails will mark this species as an Accipiter. Its tail being 

 square instead of round is a guide to identification from the Cooper's Hawk, but size is 

 the most reliable difference. 



Nesting. In trees, usually conifers from 10 to 40 feet up. 



Distribution. Over nearly the whole of North America, north, probably, to the tree 

 imits. It breeds in eastern Canada everywhere except in the most southern parts of the 

 lower Great Lakes region. 



This is the second smallest Hawk we have. It has not the sustained 

 strength or persistency of the "Noble Falcons", but it is active and agile. 

 It makes bold dashes at its prey, but on missing the stroke seldom follows it 

 up by pursuit and almost never strikes on the wing, as the "Noble Falcons" 

 do. 



Economic Status. This is the species that should have been called 

 "American Sparrow Hawk" instead of the little Falcon which has been 

 so-named. It is a close relative, and the American representative of the 

 European Sparrow Hawk which is also an Accipiter. The name would 

 suit this bird excellently as the smaller sparrows and other birds are its 

 favourite food. 



Of 107 stomachs examined, 6 contained poultry or game birds; 99, 

 other birds; 6, mice; and 5, insects. This gives 105 harmful food contents 

 against 11 good ones. The mice consisted of no more than 9 individuals, 

 but the small birds numbered 115, from Kinglets to a Mourning Dove in 

 size. This makes a strong case against this otherwise rather interesting 



