14.2 LAND BIRDS 



their sharp claws and tear from it with a right good-will. 

 It is comparatively easy, with a large amount of patience, 

 a good blind, and a field glass, to watch the brood de- 

 velop day by day ; for although so wild, the Marsh 

 Hawks will not desert their nestlings, and if you can so 

 arrange as to be inconspicuous they have little fear of 

 you. 



332. SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. — Accipiter velox. 



Family • The Falcons, Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



Length: Male 10.00-11.50 ; female 12.50-14.00. 



Adult Male : Upper parts slate-color ; under parts white, heavily barred 



and spotted with chestnut ; tail with three or four narrow hlack 



bands and - white tip. 

 Adult Female : Similar, but with markings less pronounced. 

 Young : Dusky brown above, buffy below, striped with brown or dusky. 

 Geographical Distribution : North America to arctic circle ; south in 



winter from 40° to Guatemala. 

 Breeding Season : April, May, and June. 



Breeding Range : Throughout the United States and north to Alaska. 

 Nest : Of small sticks, lined with fibre of leaves, placed from 10 feet to- 



60 feet high in a tree. 

 Eggs : 4 or 5 ; dull greenish white or grayish green, irregularly marked 



with trown. Size 1.46 X 1.20. 



Equally at home in the dense shadows of the forest, 

 on the treeless plains, or on the pine-covered mountain 

 tops, the little Sharp-shinned Hawk requires but two 

 things, — plenty of food and good water. Alas, that 

 the food should preferably be small song birds ! He is 

 a dainty eater, also, stripping all feathers from his victim 

 and refusing to swallow a bit of fur or a bone. This is 

 the only good thing which can be said of him, for a bird 

 more baleful to other feathered creatures, large and 

 small, can nowhere be found. All laws protecting native 



