174 NORTH AMKllICAX BIUDS. 



Elaine to Califurnia, thoujfli it is niro in a large portion of tlio Now Englaiul 

 States. It is, liowevcr, ([uite almudant in the vic:iiiity <il' Calais, Me., in 

 New ]>rnnswick, and in Nova Scotia, tliongli less alunulant alxiiit Halifax". 

 It has not been taken, or if .so only very rarely, in Eastern ^.las.sachusett.s, 

 though it has Ijeen known to breed in Williamstown aiul Audierst, in the 

 western part of the State. It is e(|ually rare in Ithode Island and in Con- 

 neetiuut. Dr. Woods, of East Ilarttord, knew oi' a ])air which entered a 

 dove-cot in that jtlace, destroyed its inmates, and laid lour eggs. Tiioy 

 connuittcd so many depredations on the neighbors' chickens that they were 

 shot. 



ilr. Itidgway found this spocios exceedingly abuiulant in all portions of 

 the West. In the canons of the East HuniboUlt ^Mountains it was observed 

 to have nests in holes on the laces of the limestone dill's. 



The Sparrow Hawk is a bird of irregulai- flight, now momentarily hover- 

 ing over a jiarticular sjiot, .suspending itself in the air, and then slmoting off 

 in another direction. At other times it may lie seen jierclied on tlie top of a 

 dead tree, or on a jirojecting branch, sitting there in an almost perpendicular 

 position for an hour or more at a time. It frecpiently jerks its tail, and 

 appears to be reconnoitring the ground below for small birds, mice, or liz- 

 ards, on which it chiefly preys. Wlien it alights, it closes its long wings so 

 suddenly that, according to Wilson, they seem to disapjiear. It often aji- 

 proaches the fann-hou.se early in the morning, skulking about the barnyard 

 in pursuit of mice, and occasionally of young chickens. Freipiently it 

 plunges into a thicket, as if at random, but always with an object in view, 

 and with a sure and i'atal aim. 



Wilson once observed one of this species perched on the highest top of a 

 large jioplar, and, just as he was about to take aim, it .swept down with the 

 rapidity of an arrow into a thicket of briers, where he .shot it, and found a 

 small Field Sparrow .piivering in its grasp. It is said tn be fond of watch- 

 ing along hedge-rows and in orchards, where small birds usually resort. 

 When grassho]i])ers are ))lentiful, they form the ]irincipal jiart of its fond. 

 The young are fed with the usual food of the parents, — mice, small liirds, 

 gra.sshoppers, etc. It also feeds upon small snakes, but rarely, if ever, tnuciies 

 anything that it has not itself killed, and has been known to icjcct its jirey 

 when, after having been killed, it ])roved to lie in unsuitable condition for food. 



^Ir. Audubon states that tli{> tlight of this s]iecies is never protracted. It 

 .seldom flies far at a time ; a few Inuulred yards an; all tlie di.stauce it usually 

 goes before alighting. It rarely .sails long on the wing at a time ; a half-hour 

 is its utmo.st extent. In pinsuing a bird, it flies with great rajiidity, but 

 never with the sjieed of th(! Sharp-shinned and other Hawks. Its cry is .so 

 similar to that of the Kestrel of Europe that it might be readily mistaken 

 for it but for it.s stror.ger intonation. At times it gives out these notes as it 

 l)erclies, but they are ]irinci]ially uttered while <m the wing. Mr. Audubon 

 has heard them imitate the feeble cries of their ofls]iring, when tlie.se have 

 left the nest and are following their parents. 



