The Birds of El Paso County, Colorado 505 



supply in the shape of English Sparrows, which hardly an/ore 

 will begrudge them. December 22, IQll, one was seen on 

 Tejon Street, between Bijou and Kiowa Streets, in the business 

 district, and they are frequently seen farther away from that 

 part of the city. All records are from the neighborhood 

 of the foothills. 



Faico columbarius richardsoni. Richardson's Pigeon Hawk. 



Winter resident, not as common as the preceding. 



Richardson's Hawk is a bird of similar habits to the com- 

 mon Pigeon Hawk, and frequents the same localities, living on 

 the same sort of food, small mammals and small birds. A 

 specimen killed near Colorado Springs was brought to Aiken 

 in October, 1913. 



Falco sparverius sparverius Sparrow Hawk. 



Summer resident, common. Arrives the last of March, 

 and leaves in October. 



This species is hardly as common as it was years ago, be- 

 fore a bounty was placed on hawks, and which was in force 

 for several years. This bounty law resulted in the decimation 

 of this useful species. Since its repeal the birds have in- 

 creased, but have hardly reached their former abundance. 

 Still the Sparrow Hawk is a common summer bird throughout 

 the County, seen along the roadsides perched on telephone poles 

 and fence posts. Living as it does, very largely on mice and 

 grasshoppers, it is one of the most useful birds we have, and 

 of great value to the farmer. It nests in hollow trees, old 

 woodpeckers' holes, magpies' nests, and natural rock cavities. 

 Breeds on the plains wherever trees are found but is most 

 numerous in the lower foothills, breeding indifferently in 

 pines or cottonwoods. In the mountains it occurs less com- 

 monly to above 9,000 feet. 



Pandion haliaetus carolinensis. Osprey. Fish Hawk. 



Rather uncommon and irregular in migration ; not known 



