BIRDS OF PREY 199 



SPARROW-HAWK 



The Sparrow-hawk, often called "Killy Hawk," from 

 its call, " killy-killy-killy-killy," is the commonest and small- 

 est of our hawks. It lives largely upon insects, such as 

 grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and caterpillars. The call 

 of this little falcon is much more alarming than his pres- 

 ence, while some of our savage raptors are comparatively 

 silent birds. The sparrow-hawk is found throughout the 

 entire American continent, but the form inhabiting the 

 regions west of Kansas and Dakota is known as the desert 

 sparrow-hawk. The birds prefer an elevated perch for a 

 lookout, and also have the habit of hovering almost motion- 

 less in midair, then suddenly swooping down to the ground 

 to capture an insect or a mouse. From this habit comes 

 the name mouse hawk, a name more often applied to the 

 shrike. 



The natural nesting site is a hollow tree, preferably near 

 water. Sometimes the birds take possession of an excava- 

 tion originally chiseled by a woodpecker, and again a nat- 

 ural cavity is utilized. In the Yellowstone Park region of 

 Montana, the Western sparrow-hawk frequently takes pos- 

 session of a magpie's nest. In Ohio these birds have been 

 found nesting in the crevices of stone quarries. Sometimes 

 they lay their eggs on the sawdust between the partitions 

 in an icehouse, usually just beneath the eaves. 



Four or five eggs are laid, usually in May. The back- 

 ground is white and the shell is delicately clouded and 

 spotted with pale brown or salmon. 



