146 



WILD ANTMALR OF OLACTKP. XATIONAI, PARK. 



From Biological Survey. 



Fn:. 47. — Sbarp-shinni'd 



Family BUTEONID^: Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



Marsh Hawk; t'irciis ci/d.nevs hii(h<>nlus. — The mouse hawk, as it 

 is known locally', is easily recognized by its wliite rump jDatch as it 

 Ijeats low over meadows, marshes, and beaver ponds, hunting for 

 small manunals. While restricted to the lower levels, it is reported 

 from Sherburne Lake, Lake St. Mary, and the 

 North Fork of the Flathead. Several were seen 

 by us in the Belly "River country, at Waterton 

 Lake, the Reynolds Lakes, and along, the Koote- 

 nai Trail. 



The marsh hawk nests on the ground, and 

 when opportunity offers it is a peculiarly in- 

 teresting bird to study and photograph. 



Sharp-shinned Hawk : Acciplter relo.r. — 

 The long-tailed little sharp-shinned hawk darts 

 about, picking up birds or small mammals with 

 dextrous ease, but occasionally he finds his 

 match. One morning in August, as the sun was 

 shining over the garden wall at our Granite 

 Park camp and the small birds were flying 

 around among the tall firs, Mr. Bailey saw a band of Clark crows and 

 Oregon jays come into the white-barked jiines. " Suddenh'," he said, 

 " the ground squirrels began to chirp in a low tone quite different 

 from their usual alarm note, and a sharp- 

 shinned hawk dashed across from one tree 

 to another in pursuit of an Oregon jaj' of 

 his own size." Such temerity was not to go 

 unpunished, and the jay, with loud squawks, 

 promptly chased him back to another tree, 

 a Clark crow joining in " witli liarsli 

 cries and widely flajDping wings." 



A few hours later, as we were crossing 

 Swiftcurrent Pass, we saw a sharp-shin 

 skim low over the ground and make a quick 

 dive at a ledge of rock, when a ground 

 squirrel with a sharp sqiieak dodged back 

 out of his reach. After the hawk had dis- 

 appeared, the half-grown ground squirrel 

 came out and loudly celebrated his escape 

 with warning whistles to his brothers. 



Cooper Hawk : Acdpiter coopen.— One of the Cooper hawks, simi- 

 larly marked but a size larger than the sharp-shinned, -was seen by 

 Mr. Bailey on August 9, flying over the low peak adjoining Chief 

 INIountain. The hawk was also reported by Mr. Frank M. Stevenson 

 from the Sherl)urne Lake region. 



From Bioloffical Sii 



Fig. 48.- 



-Goshawk. 



