420 BIRDS — FALCONIl)^. 



Genus ACCIPITER. Brisaon. 



Bill at base higher than long. Wings short ; tail long ; tarsi long, slender, feathered 

 at base ; toes padded underneath. 



ACCIPITEK FDSCUS (Gm.) Bp. 



Slia'i*p-*»laiiirLed. iGTa-wk ; Pigeon. Ha.'wlx. 



Falco velox, Kirtland, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 161, 178. 



Falco fuBBUs, Read, Fam. Visitor, iii, 1852, 2M; Proo. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., vi, 1853, 



395. 

 Accipiter fuscus, Kirkpatrick, Ohio Farmer, vii, 1858, 155 ; Ohio Agrio. Rep. for 1858, 352. 



— Whbaton, Ohio Agrio. Rep. for 1860, 360 ; Reprint, 1861, 20 ; Food of Birds, etc., 



Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1874, 570 ; Reprint, 1875, 10.— Langdon, Cat. Birds of Gin., 



1877, 12. 

 Nisus fuscus, Langdon, Revised List, Journ. Gin. Soo. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 180; Reprint, 



14; Snmmer Birds, ib., iii, 1880, 2i5. 



Falco fascua, Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 2S0. 

 Falco velox, Wilson, Am. Orn., v, 1812, 280. 

 Accipiter fuscus, Bonaparte, Gomp. List., 1838, 5. 

 Nisus fuscus, Kaup, Mon. Fale. Gout. Orn., 1850, 64. 



Feet extremely slender ; bare portion of tarsus longer than middle toe; soutellse fre- 

 quently fused, tail square. Above dark-browu (deepest oa the head, the occipital 

 feathers showing white when disturbed) with an ashy or plumbeous shade -which in- 

 creases with age, till the general oast is quite bluish-ash; below white or whitish, 

 variously streakoj with dark-brown and ruaty, fiually changing to browish-red (palest 

 behind and slightly ashy across the breast) with the white then only showing in narrow 

 oross-bars ; chin, throat and crissum mostly white with blackish pencilling ; wings and 

 tail barred with ashy and brown or blackish, the quills white-barred basally, the tail 

 whitish tipped ; bill dark ; claws black ; cere and feet yellow. Male, 10-12 ; wing, 6-7 ; 

 tail, 5-6 ; female, 12-14 ; wing, 7-8 ; whole foot, 3^ or less. 



Habitat, the -whole of North America. South to Panama. 



Common resident in Northern, less common in Middle and Southern 

 Ohio. Dr. Kirtland and Mr. Read give this Hawk as common. Mr. 

 Kirkpatrick gives us to infer that it does not remain in the vicinity of 

 Cleveland during -winter, but states that it breeds. Mr. Langdon gives 

 it as rare in the vicinity of Cincinnati, and cites Mr. Dury as authority 

 for its breeding there. In this vicinity it is rather rare, though, I believe, 

 a resident throughout the year. 



The Sharp shinned Hawls is one of the most daring and dashing of 

 the family, frequently and successfully visiting the barn-yard for food, 

 and often attacking birds of nearly its own weight. Sometimes, how- 

 ever, he fails to obtain his prey, either from over confidence in his own 

 abilities, or under estimation of the powers of his victim. I once saw an 

 adult bird of this species pounce upon a Meadowlark, quietly feeding upon 



