462 BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 



as I wished it. Its eye, directed towards mine, appeared truly sorrow- 

 ful, with a degree of pensiveness, which rendered me at that moment 

 quite uneasy. I measured the length of its bill with the compass, began 

 my outlines, continued measuring part after part as I went on, and 

 finished the drawing, without the bird ever moving once. My wife sat 

 at my side, reading to me at intervals, but our conversation had frequent 

 reference to the singularity of the incident. The drawing being finished, 

 I raised the window, laid hold of the poor bird, and launched it into the 

 air, where it sailed off until out of my sight, without uttering a single 

 cry, or deviating from its course. The drawing from which the plate is 

 taken, was subsequently made, as I had to wait untU I should procure a 

 male, to render it complete. 



The above incident you wiU doubtless consider as extraordinary as I 

 myself did, and perhaps some may feel disposed to look upon it as a spe- 

 cimen of travellers' tales ; but as I have resolved to present you with the 

 incidents as they occurred, I have felt no hesitation in relating this. 



The Broad-Avinged Hawk is seldom seen in Louisiana, and I believe 

 never except during the severe winters that occasionally occur in our 

 Middle and Eastern Districts. I have observed that its usual range sel- 

 dom extends far west of the Alleghany Mountains; but in Virginia, 

 Maryland, and all the States to the eastward of these, it is by no means 

 a rare species. I have shot several in the .Jersey s, the State of New 

 York, near the Falls of Niagara, and also in the Great Pine Forest. 



Its flight, which is easy and light, is performed in circles. When 

 elevated in the air, it is fond of partially closing its wings for a moment, 

 and thus gliding to a short distance, as if for amusement. It seldom 

 chases other birds of prey, but is itself frequently teased by the Little 

 Sparrow-hawk, the King-bird, or the Martin. It generally attacks birds 

 of weak nature, particularly very young chickens and ducklings, and 

 during winter feeds on insects and other small animals. It flies singly, 

 unless during the breeding season, and after feeding retires to the top of 

 some small tree, within the woods, where it rests for hours together. It 

 is easily approached. When wounded by a shot so as to be unable to fly, 

 it, like most birds of its tribe, throws itself on its back, opens its bill, 

 protrudes its tongue, utters a hissing sound, erects the top-feathers of its 

 head, and defends itself by reiterated attempts to lay hold with its talons. 

 If a stick is presented to it in this state, it will clench it at once, and al- 

 low itself to be carried hanging to it for some distance, indeed until 



