46 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 9 



produce such an ominous roaring sound. Meanwhile the falcon mounted higher 

 and higher and then dropped again. Three times this performance was repeated 

 before the trio were lost to view, and although the rabbit gave a good account 

 of himself, yet I fear the odds must have eventually proven too great. 



On another occasion the author was acting as ditch tender, and was guard- 

 ing a rather high fill that was carrying about all the water that could be crowded 

 through the ditch. The March sunshine produced a drowsy feeling, and as I sat 

 on a head-gate with my thoughts, perhaps, centered more upon some Red-tail's 

 nest up in the hills, than upon my duty, there was a sudden roar as of a large 

 volume of water rushing through a small aperture. I sprang to my feet thinking 

 that the ditch bank had given away, but was much relieved when I beheld one 

 of the long-winged, black-moustached falcons, which had made a parachute drop 

 upon some small object in a nearby field. 



Northern Pigeon Hawk. Falco columbarius columbarius Linnaeus. 



The Pigeon Hawk must be considered a rare winter visitant to this part 

 of the valley, and I have only two or three records of its occurrence. 



About the middle of October, 1905, one of these little hawks stayed around 

 the trees on my father's place near Clovis, for a week or more, and was often 

 seen. When discovered on some perch it would fly through the nearest tree, 

 out on the other side and disappear with a fast, strong flight. On the morning 

 of October 18, as I came out of the house I was surprised to see my hawk sit- 

 ting on the clothes-line post in the back yard. He was but a few yards distant, 

 and the brownish tail with narrow white bands and white tip, together with its 

 white throat-patch, convinced me that my previous identifications had been 

 correct . 



I have records of this hawk as noted February 20, 1903, and November 3, 

 1903, both birds being quite satisfactorily seen at close range. 



American Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius sparverius Linnaeus. 



Nearly everybody knows this, the smallest of our hawks. Fortunately the 

 majority of the agriculturists and sportsmen realize that it is, for the most part, 

 a harmless little hunter and for this reason it is seldom molested, except by that 

 class who shoot at anything that wears feathers or fur. The Sparrow Hawk 

 is quite generally distributed all through the lowlands in winter, but retires to 

 wooded areas during the nesting season. It is known to nest along the San 

 Joaquin River, in the oak covered districts in the southern part of the county, 

 and in the trees along some of the creeks that come down out of the hills. 



This species subsists to a great extent upon grasshoppers, crickets, and other 

 large insects, as well as mice ; and the bird-catching tendency seems to be a trait 

 that only appears in the case of certain individuals. 



One winter a male of this species, which spent the greater part of its time 

 in my father's vineyard, seemed to be especially destructive, pursuing and cap- 

 turing not a few sparrows, while on one or two occasions he dined on Meadow- 

 larks. This habit, happily, was not shared by several others of his kind that 

 were frequently seen nearby. 



June 8, 1907, while driving along the road just above Academy, I noticed 

 that grasshoppers were flying up from the roadside in goodly numbers and zig- 



