Th^ Birds of Wyoming. 61 



lains, it has at least one redeeming quality, and. that is its fond- 

 ness for the English sparrow, our imported bird-nuisance. This 

 hawk is gradually learning that there is a never-failing supply 

 of food for it in the larger towns and cities. The Sharp-shinned 

 hawk is now common in Central park. New York, all through 

 the winter, where the writer has witnessed it chasing sparrows, 

 as he has also in some of the larger parks in Washington, D. C. 

 Numerous reports from various towns and villages show that 

 the habit of visiting such places for the sparrow is. becoming 

 common." 



These birds have been taken or reported in Wyoming 

 as follows: Grinnell, Yellowstone Park; McCarthy, Big 

 Sandy; Fisher, Carter; Drexel, Fort Bridger; Woods, Bridg- 

 er's Pass ; Bond, Cheyenne ; Jesurun, Douglas ; Coues, Powder 

 river, and one general reference to the state ; Knight, Sundance, 

 Jackson Hole, South Pass, Otto, Kemmerer ; Cary, Newcastle. 



333. Accipiter cooperii (BoNAP.). 

 Cooper's Hawk, 



Summer resident ; rather uncommon. None of our hawks 

 cause a continued reign of terror among other birds equal to 

 this constant seeker of other birds to devour. He favors poul- 

 try, but always finds ample food when it is scarce, in the way 

 of sparrows and even larger birds. He is also a very sly bird 

 and will often visit a ranch many times and carry off a num- 

 ber of young chickens before he is found out. I believe that 

 hunters as well as agriculturists are at all times warranted in 

 killing this enemy of both bird and man. Fisher in "The 

 Hawks and Owls of the United States" pp. 38-39, refers to 

 this hawk as follows: 



"The food of this Hawk, like that of its smaller congener, 

 consists almost entirely of wild birds and poultry, though 

 from its superior size and strength it is able to cope success- 

 fully with much larger birds, and hence is much more to be 

 dreaded. Besides birds, it occasionally captures small mam- 



