The American Sparrow Hawk 145 



the o;rojnd with a not very rapid motion and seize its huml)le o;ame of a grassliopper and 

 Hy back to a perch and eat it. 



The Pigeon Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk make a few rapid wing-strokes and then 

 sail for some distance. The Sparrow Hawk hunts and perches in open places, while the 

 Siiarp-shinned Hawk confines itself to the woods and thickets, perching in a tree wliere it 

 may be hidden. The note of the Sparrow Hawk is ' Killee, kitlee, killee,' which once 

 heard will always s^rve to distinguish this species from the two others with which it may 

 be confounileii . 



Another very excellent means of identification of the Sparrow Hawk, if seen at or near 

 its nesting site, is the location of the nest; if it is in a hole of any kind it is almost sure to 

 bilong to a Sparrow Hawk, while if it is a nest built of sticks and other material in the 

 branches of a tree it is ecjually sure to be the nest of a Pigeon or Sharp-shinned Hawk. 



As the Pigeon Hawk is not often found breeding within the limits of the United States, 

 the tree nest, if found south of tlu' Canadian border, will very likely be that of the Sharp- 

 shinned Hawk. 



These several distinguishing marks are given with the earnest hope that farmers, sports- 

 men and others who, in the past, hive killed all Hawks, will in the future spare the Spar- 

 row Hawk, owing to its great value to agriculture. When in doubt regarding the identity 

 of a small Hawk, give the benefit of the doubt to the Hawk, and refrain from killing it, for 

 you may thus spare a valuable bird, belonging to a species that during every twelve months 

 renders service to the agricultural industry of the country that is far beyond computation, 

 but if measured in dollars and cents would reach to very high figures. 



This appeal for protection of the Sparrow Hawks, and the statements as to their value, 

 would be worthless if they could not be supported by facts. 



In the exhaustive report on this species, made in 1893, by Dr. A. K. Fisher, of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, will be found indisputable facts that prove the absolute 

 value of this Hawk as a grasshojiper- and rodent-destroser, and, on the other hand, will 

 sliow how little harm it (ioes. 



Three hundred and twenty stomachs were examined, which had been. collected in widely 

 separated parts of the countrs-, and in all seasons of the year. In only one stomach was 

 founil remains of a game-bird; (it also contained 29 insects). This fact shows that tiie 

 sportsmen have no excuse for killing a Sparrow Hawk, as it certainly does not molest game- 

 birds. Fifty-three stomachs contained remains of other birds, the species being one that lived 

 on or very near the ground. In almost every instance the stomachs of these 53 Hawks containetl, 

 in addition, insects or rodents of soine kind. Eighty-nine birds had been eating mice of 

 some s|iecies, while 24 Hawks had been eating other mammals, reptiles or batrachians. Two 

 hundred and fifteen birds had been eating insects of various kinds, largely grasshoppers, 

 crickets, beetles, caterpillars, etc. A stomach of a Hawk collected at Lockport, N. Y., in 

 August, contained 30 crickets; another, collected In Dakota county, Nebraska, in July, 

 ^'ontained a gopher and 38 insects; another, from Cedar county, Nebraska, in August, 

 contained 35 grasshoppers, 24 crickets, i dragon-fly and 2 spiders; a West Virginia bird 

 had eaten 25 grasshoppers, 10 katydids and 10 crickets; an Alabama bird, late in Novem- 

 ber, had eaten 25 grasshoppers, 5 crickets and 2 larva'; while another, in February, had 

 eaten a cotton lat. 



Dr. Fisher summarizes as follows: "The subject of the food of this Hawk is one of 

 great interest, and. considered in its economic bearings, is one that should be carefully 

 studied. The Sparrow Hawk is almost exclusively insectivorous, except when insect food is 

 dirticult to obtain. In localities w ere grasshoppers and crickets are abundant these 

 Hawks congregate, often in moderate-sized Hocks, and gorge themselves continuously. 

 Rarely do they touch any other form of food until either by the advancing season or other 

 natural causes the grasshopper crop is so lessened that their hunger cannot be appeased 

 without undue exertion. Then other kinds of insects and other forms of life contribute to 



