526 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 
been assured of its arrival by the few cries which it utters on such oc- 
easions. The earliness of its departure has often much puzzled me, 
for with all my anxiety to witness it, I have never succeeded in doing 
so, although on two or three occasions I have watched the spot more 
than half an hour before dawn, and remained patiently waiting until 
long after the sun had risen, when I clambered to the hole, and always 
found it empty. 
The food of this Hawk consists chiefly of birds of various sizes, 
from the smallest of our warblers to the Passenger Pigeon or young 
chickens, the latter appearing to afford a special temptation to it, as 
has been above related. I am also aware that it feeds occasionally on 
small reptiles and insects, and I shot the male represented in the plate, 
on wing, whilst it held in its claws the small Shrew also represented. 
It is extremely expert at seizing some of our smaller snakes and lizards, 
and not unfrequently snatches up a frog while basking in the sun. 
The difference of size observed between the males and females, as 
well as between individuals of the same sex, is very remarkable ; and 
no doubt it was on account of this very great disparity that WiLson 
described specimens of both sexes as two distinct species. Its notes 
are short, shrill, and repeated in a hurried manner, when the bird is 
wounded and brought to the ground. It often emits cries of this kind 
while falling, but suddenly becomes silent when it comes to the earth, 
and then makes off swiftly, with long and light leaps, keeping silent 
until approached. Although a small bird, it possesses considerable 
muscular power, and its extremely sharp claws are apt to inflict severe 
pain, should a person lay hold of it incautiously. 
Fatco Fuscus, and pusBius, Gmel. and Lath. 
SLaTE-coLouRED Hawk, Fatco Prennsytvanicus, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. vi. 
p- 13, pl. 46, fig. 1. Adult Male. 
SHARP-SHINNED Hawk, Fatco vetox, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. vi. p. 116, pl. 45, 
fig. 1. Young Female. 
Fatco vELox, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of United States, p. 29. 
Fatco Fuscus, Ch. Bonaparte, Ibid. Append. p. 433. 
AccIPITER PENNSYLVANICUS, SLATE-COLOURED Hawk, Richards. and Swains. Fauna 
Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 44. 
American Brown or StatEe-cotoureD Hawk, Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 87: 
