72 Contributions from the Charleston Museum. 



The Marsh Hawk does not breed on the coast, but arrives with 

 great regularity in late summer and I give three dates on which I 

 have observed it, namely — August 21, 1895, August 26, 1899, 

 and August 30, 1904. The birds remain in small numbers until 

 about April 21, but a few linger until the early part of May. 

 Audubon mentions in Birds of America, 1 the following: 



Wilson must have been misinformed by some one acquainted with the arrival 

 and departure of this species, as well as of the Rice Bird, in South Carolina, when 

 he was induced to say that the Marsh Hawk "is particularly serviceable to the rice 

 fields of the Southern States, by the havoc it makes among the clouds of Rice 

 Buntings that spread such devastation among the grain, in its early stages. As it 

 sails low, and swiftly, over the surface of the field, it keeps the flocks in perpet- 

 ual fluctuation, and greatly interrupts their depredations. The planters consider 

 one Marsh Hawk to be equal to several negroes for alarming the Rice Birds." 



Now, good reader, my friend John Bachman, who has resided more than twenty 

 years in South Carolina, and who is a constant student of nature, and perhaps 

 more especially attentive to the habits of birds, informs me that the Marsh Hawk 

 is proportionally rare in that State, and that it only makes its appearance there 

 after the Rice Birds have left the country for the south, and retires at the approach 

 of spring, before they have arrived. 



In justice to Wilson, who is now recognized to have been a 

 great ornithologist, I will state that he was eminently correct in 

 what he wrote concerning the Marsh Hawk, and that Dr. John 

 Bachman was entirely incorrect, for this species makes its appear- 

 ance at or about the same time that the Rice Bird arrives in the 

 fall (August 17), while it is also here when the Rice Bird comes 

 in the spring (April 16) . Any rice planter who is observant knows 

 full well that the Marsh Hawk is one of his best friends; not only 

 as a "bird minder," but also as a destroyer of mice and other 

 noxious mammals. 



This species winters as far south as Panama and breeds locally 

 throughout its North American range. To the best of my knowl- 

 edge the Marsh Hawk does not breed in any portion of this state. 



136. Accipiter velox (Wils.). Sharp-shinned Hawk. 



In autumn large nights of this winter visitant sometimes occur 

 along the coast in company with Cooper's and Pigeon Hawks. 

 On October 10, 1903, I observed large numbers migrating in a 

 southerly direction, and this great flight lasted throughout the 

 day. I obtained a specimen near Mount Pleasant, August 18, 

 1896, and I believe, from its youth, that it was bred not far away. 

 The Sharp-shinned Hawk is most abundant during the winter, 

 and a few remain until the last of April. It preys upon small 



1 1, 109-110. 



