April 1004] BIRDS OF THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA. 7 



usually much below that. The Swainson Hawks arrive early in April, 

 the first observed in 1903 being on April 3, and they soon become quite 

 abundant. They are very uniform in coloration, being practically all in 

 the light phase of plumage. The only exceptions to this that I have seen, 

 at least of breeding birds, were a female from which I secured a set of 

 eggs on June 4, 1902, which had a great deal of dark chestnut markings 

 on the lower parts, abdomen and thighs; and a female from which 1 

 secured a set, below the Santa Rita Mountains, some forty miles north- 

 west of the Huachucas; which last appeared to be nearly black, being 

 fully as dark as any Southern California szvainsoni that I have seen. On 

 September 5, 1902, while driving from the mountains to the train, enor- 

 mous flocks of Swainson Hawks were seen between Fort Huachuca and 

 the railroad, hundreds being in sight at once. Many were circling over- 

 head at an average height of about fifty yards, and as many more were 

 lit on the prairie on all sides, feeding on the grasshoppers, which abound 

 there. The grass was so high as to hide many of them, but in several 

 places along the road I counted a dozen or more in a space ten feet 

 square. The great majority of them were in the light phase of plumage, 

 but I saw two or three which appeared nearly black, and about every 

 possible phase of plumage between the two extremes. The flocks were 

 slowly moving in a southerly direction, and, as far as I could make out, 

 contained no species of hawk but sivainsom. Of the few specimens of 

 the Swainson Hawk which I prepared, the stomachs contained nothing 

 but grasshoppers, which are so extremely abundant on the grassy plains 

 of this region that I doubt if these hawks eat much of anything else 

 while staying here. 



Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus). Golden Eagle. 



Resident throughout the year but not in any great numbers. Alon<y 

 the divide of the mountains, where they undoubtedly breed, a pair or two 

 can be seen at almost any time, and occasionally a bird is seen on the 

 plains below, hunting jack-rabbits or prairie dogs. During August, 1902, 

 I several times saw what appeared to be young of the year. 



Falco mexicanus Schlegel. Prairie Falcon. 



In my experience the Prairie Falcon is of quite rare occurrence in 

 this region. Mr. O. W. Howard secured a set of eggs of this species in 

 the Huachuca Mountains (see Condor Vol. IV, 1902, page 57) and prob- 

 ably a few other pairs breed in scattered localities throughout the range, 

 but taking it altogether, I doubt if I have seen over half a dozen of the 

 birds. On April 6, 1902, Mr. Howard and I watched a pair flying about 

 a rocky cliff in Ramsey Canyon. They were apparently in search of a 

 nesting site for they flew into quite a number of caves and crevices in 

 the rock, screaming shrilly the while, but on a later visit to the place we 

 failed to find them. 



Falco pergrinus anaturn (Bonaparte). Duck Hawk. 



A rare migrant. On April 20, 1902, a fine old female was secured 

 at the base of the mountains, the onlv one I have seen in this localitv : 

 though several others were observed at various times along the San 

 Pedro River, where the migrating water fowl probable afford a more 

 congenial field of operations. The one secured had been preying on the 

 Mourning Doves which abounded in the vicinity at the time. 



Falco columbarius Linneaus. Pigeon Hawk. 



Of very rare occurrence. A single bird which passed over me on 

 February 23, 1903, is the only one I have ever seen in the Huachucas. 



