Pigeon-Hawks and Kestrels 217 



The nesting .site is very varied. In some instances the bird deposits its eggs 

 on a ledge or in a cavity on the face of a cliff, in others in the hollow of trees 

 or in nests made among their branches, and occasionally in the deserted nests 

 of other birds." FISHER. These birds lay four or five eggs, which resemble 

 in coloration those of the Duck-Hawk. 



Other Species. A darker race of the Pigeon-Hawk known as the Black 

 Eerlin (F. c. suckleyi) inhabits the northwest coast from California to Sitka, 

 Alaska. Very little is known of its habits, and its nest and eggs have not been 

 found. Richardson's Merlin (F. richardsonii) is a slightly larger and much 

 )aler-colored bird than the Pigeon-Hawk. It is found in the interior and western 

 plains of North America, from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast, and thence 

 northward to British America, migrating southward in winter to Texas and 

 Arizona. Like the Black Merlin, very little is know r n regarding its habits, though 

 its nests and eggs are similar to those of the Pigeon-Hawk. 



The Aplomado Falcon (F. fusco-carulescens] , or Orange-chested Hobby, as 

 it is sometimes called, is a handsome Falcon of Central and South America, which 

 reaches the border of the United States in southern Texas, New Mexico, and 

 Arizona. It is from fifteen to eighteen inches long, bluish gray above, with a 

 broad stripe behind the eye, ear-coverts, chin, throat, and chest immaculate 

 white, while there is orange-rufous on the occiput, and the lower parts are slaty 

 blackish, narrowly barred with white, except the thighs and lower tail-coverts, 

 which are light rufous or rusty. The wings and tail are blackish with transverse 

 white bars, while the bill is yellow with a black tip, and the feet orange. In Ar- 

 gentina, where it is tolerably common, Mr. Hudson speaks of it as a poor spirited 

 bird which "never boldly and openly attacks any bird, except the smallest species, 

 and prefers to perch on an elevation from which it can dart down suddenly and 

 take its prey by surprise." Its food consists of mice, small reptiles, grasshoppers, 

 and insects of various kinds, and occasionally a small bird. It frequents in the 

 United States the open plains, covered here and there with low mesquite trees, 

 oaks, and cactuses. Its nest is usually the abandoned home of the White-necked 

 Raven, and the eggs are apparently three in number. 



Kestrels. The small Falcons known as Kestrels form a group of nearly 

 twenty species and are found with limited exception over the entire globe. They 

 have the tarsus decidedly longer than the middle toe, and the sexes very different 

 in coloration. The European Kestrel, or Windhover (F. tinnunculus], one of 

 the commonest and best known of British birds, is from twelve and one half to 

 fifteen inches long, the male lead-gray in color above, with the sides, under tail- 

 coverts, and thighs light yellowish rufous, with narrow longitudinal streaks of 

 black, while the female is light rufous or cinnamon above, spotted and barred 

 with dark brown, the lower parts being similar to but paler than in the male. 

 The bill is blue and the cere and feet yellow. The Kestrel gets its name of 

 "Windhover" from its habit of stopping suddenly in its flight and remaining 

 motionless suspended in mid-air on its rapidly beating wings, while it gazes 

 intently at the ground. If it is correct in detecting its prey, it drops on it 

 like a flash, but otherwise passes on, to repeat the process at frequent intervals. 



