SPARROW HAWK, 117 



is the most important one of all, and where these insects are abundant 

 I have never seen them have recourse to any other kind of food." 

 (Explor. West of 100th Merid., Wheeler, vol. V, 1875, p. 414.) 



And subsequently the same author writes: "The west side of Ohe- 

 waucan Valley has suffered severely from a visitation of that scourge 

 of the western farmer, the grasshoppers. Here in August the spar- 

 row hawks had assembled in hundreds and were holding high carnival, 

 and although in instances like the present their numbers proved wholly 

 insufficient to cope against the vast myriads of these destructive in- 

 sects, yet the work of the sparrow hawk is by no means so insignifi- 

 cant that it should not be remembered to his credit and earn him well- 

 merited protection. His food consists almost entirely of grasshoppers, 

 when they are to be had, and as his appetite appears never to become 

 satiated, the aggregate in numbers which are annually destroyed by 

 him must be enormous." (Appendix O O of the Annual Eeport of the 

 Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., for 1879, p. 314.) 



The late Townend Glover, formerly entomologist of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, states that the beneficial traits of this 

 hawk more than counterbalance any harm it may do, and says : "In 

 proof of this, a Sparrow Hawk, shot in October among a flock of reed 

 or rice birds, was found to be filled with grasshoppers, and contained 

 not the slightest vestige of feathers or bones of birds. This bird was 

 remarkably fat." (TJ. S. Agric. Eeport, 1865, p. 37.) 



Mr. G. J. Maynard, writing on the food of the Sparrow Hawk at 

 Miami, Fla., says: "They have nothing to do but to pick up grasshop- 

 pers, of which they appear never to tire. It is true that they can find 

 green grasshoppers and brown grasshoppers, grasshoppers with wings 

 and wingless grasshoppers, but still, as far as any distinctive taste is 

 concerned, there must be but little variation. Tet, to all appearances, 

 the Hawks are satisfied, for I never saw one take any other kind of 

 food." (Birds of Eastern Korth America, 1881, p. 297.) 



Dr. J. G. Cooper says: "This little hawk resides constantly in Cali- 

 fornia, frecLuenting chiefly the plains, and feeding on grasshoppers, 

 mice, gophers, etc. It must be considered one of the farmers' best 

 friends, and is seldom killed by observing persons." (Ornith. Gal., Land 

 Birds, 1870, p. 463.) 



In the vicinity of Washington, D. C, remarkable as it may appear 

 to those who have not interested themselves specially in the matter, it 

 is the exception not to find grasshoppers or crickets in the stomachs 

 of Sparrow Hawks, even when killed during the months of January 

 and February, unless the ground is covered with snow. 



It is wonderful how the birds can discover the half- concealed, semi- 

 dormant insects, which in color so closely resemble the ground or dry 

 grass. Whether they are attracted by a slight movement, or distin- 

 guish the form of their prey as it sits motionless, is difflcult to prove, 

 but in any case the acuteness of their vision is of a character which 



