88 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY 



HABITS. 



This is one of the smallest, most handsome and graceful of all the 

 Falcons. One of his most striking personalities is his courage, indeed, 

 if his body were directly in proportion to that quality he would perhaps 

 be the largest of all birds. He will attack and capture birds of more 

 than twice his size and is very persistent in his pursuit of any creature 

 that may have attracted his fancy. One of these small hunters has been 

 known to enter a house in pursuit of a Flicker, which had flown through 

 the open window in the hope of escaping certain destruction, which 

 would otherwise have befallen him. 



Contrary to the usual custom of other Hawks, they do not confine 

 their attacks upon other birds to making sudden dashes at them in the 

 hope of catching them unawares. If the object of their attack sees and 

 avoids them at the first swoop, they will at once give chase, and follow 

 every motion of their quarry through its devious course, and rarely will 

 they fall short of success in their endeavor. Their swiftness andagility 

 are phenomenal and no sudden or unexpected move of the pursued can 

 throw this little harrier ofiE the track. 



As is nearly always the case, no matter how brave a bird may be in 

 the presence of others of the feathered tribe, he will have a wholesome 

 fear of a human being. In this respect, the Pigeon Hawk does not dif- 

 fer from others, but is very wild and shy, except where the safety of its 

 nest is concerned. The actions of different individuals of this species 

 vary in regard to the reception they accord to molesters of their domes- 

 tic life. One may immediately, apparently, leave the vicinity, while 

 another may attempt to defend his home and make fearless swoops at 

 the head of the invader. 



Although naturally shy, if captured they can easily be tamed, and 

 doubtlessly in the day of falconry they could have been used in the chase, 

 as was the Merlin, a very similar Hawk. Besides small birds, and large 

 ones, too, his food is made up largely of mice, crickets and grasshop- 

 pers. 



Pigeon Hawks are rarely met with in the United States during the 

 summer, except in northern New England and in the mountainous lo- 

 calities of the northwest. By far the greater number of them nest in 

 the interior of Canada. They are quite plentiful in Alaska and here 

 nest on the clifl^s or in the tops of pine trees. Their nests when placed 

 in the latter situation are very large for the bird and resemble Crow's 

 nests. The adult male in summer is an unusually attractive bird and as 

 with all the Hawks, is much smaller than the female or young. 



