THE OOLOGIST. 



vol * 



The Oologist. 





vol. x. 



ALBION, N. Y., APRIL, 1893. 



NO. 4 



The Raptores of Michigan. 



BY SCOLOPAX. 



Perhaps some of the regular readers 

 of the Oologist may recall that I began 

 an annotated catalogue of the rapacious 

 birds of Miehigau. At that time March 

 1889,1 wrote of six: species of hawks, 

 the list being discontinued the follow- 

 ing month. It is now my intention to 

 go on with this list of Michigan Rap- 

 tores and complete my notes. 



Duck Hawk, Falco pcregrinus (ma- 

 lum. This darling falcon was first 

 recorded as a Michigan species, by 

 Sager in his pioneer list of 1839. It has 

 since been listed by Dr. Miles in tbe 

 State Geological Survey, 1860; Cabot's 

 Birds of Lake Superior, 1850; Boies's 

 list of birds of Southern Michigan, 

 1875; and by all of the more recent 

 lists. Steere in his list, 'Migration of 

 Michigan Birds,' gives this bird as 

 breeding in the state but does not 

 substantiate it with any notes what- 

 ever. 



The best supposition regarding this 

 'species, is probably to embrace it as an 

 occasional straggler, but it may even- 

 tually prove to breed iu some sections 

 as it is a great wanderer. ;i 



The Mississippi 'Kite. Iclinia Wiss- 

 issippirnsix, ami (jYRFALCON, Fa In, ru.- 

 ticolus i/njfalc*, are both embraced in 

 ''lists of Michigan bird's', but enough of 

 evidence has not yet been adduced to 

 : convince me of their reliability as 

 birds of our state. 



Pigeon Hawk, Fako columbarium. 

 This is the true Pigeon Hawk, although 

 : the'SpaiTowHawkaswellasthe Sharp- 

 shinned Hawk are in 'bf ! teti improperly 

 called Pigeon Hawic. 'It ! 5s 'somewhat 

 •' 'larger than trie' Sparrow* ' Hawk^^nd 

 'though b^uite "similar in flight 'and other 

 movements, is readily identified at a 

 considerable distance. 



•The Pigeou Hawk is embraced by 

 nearly all lists but is considered rare 

 by all but one authority, who saj 7 s 

 "common migraut." Professor J. B. 

 Steere of Ann Arbor says the bird 

 breeds in Michigan, but this assertion 

 has as yet been unsubstantiated. Still 

 the species may nest north of 45 de-, 

 grees North latitude but as yet I pre- 

 fer to call it a rare transient. 



Richardson's Merlin", Falco richard- 

 sonis. This bird was taken in the 

 state by the Reverend Charles Fox, as 

 reported iu the appendix of Ridgeway's 

 Birds of Illinois. I know nothing 

 about the species and will embrace it 

 as an accidental visitor. 



American Sparrow Hawk, Falco 

 sparverius. Quite a common summer 

 resident, arriving from the south in 

 Api*il and departing in October. It is 

 a lively, interesting bird and generally 

 quite well known to country people. 

 It is never abundant, and cannot be 

 compared to the Bed tailed Hawks in 

 point of numbers, but as it lives 

 more in . the open than the Buteos 

 it is correspondingly offeeuer seen 

 at close quarters. ' It is quite -unsiuSpi- 

 cious when reared iu a locality! -sphere 

 '"it <is wWtnblested and often remains 

 perched on the fence or deaduJitnbf at 

 the side of theToad as a team passes-by. 

 The Sparrow Hawk prefers a dead-limb 

 for a perch and will-fly many rods out 

 of it's route in OTdwiteisettle on a dead 

 tree. It much more often sits on a, rail 

 fence, or stub,- in a partially cleared 

 country, and will '^preferably alight - on 

 the ground or a : house or barn than in a 

 •i'itfult^ifoliagediptreei oWtoehl itlpd^ihes, 

 i t ci o sds H ts w iugs< so ' q u i ok 1 p tb ati%(is a 

 1 ! " cause/ of Woridermbnt t0.»tfaj&»®Meever. 



As 1 this interesting ali^leg/bhtsbgi&ffaiv 

 iably lays its eggs in a cavity of a dead 

 tree, so far as the observations of Mich- 



