BIRDS OF NEW YORK IO3 



the whole of North America, breeding chiefly north of the United States 

 as far as Alaska and Ungava. 



Falco sparverius sparverius Linnaeus 

 Sparrow Hawk 



Plate 52 



Falco sparverius Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10. 1758. 90 



DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 16, fig. 16 

 Falco sparverius sparverius A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 166. 

 No. 360 



sparve'rius, quasi-Latin, pertaining to sparrow 



Description. Our smallest hawk. Sexes unlike from the nest to 

 maturity. Tail rather long and rounded. Tarsi much longer than the 

 middle toe. Top of head bluish slate to dusky slate, usually with a rusty 

 patch. Side of head whitish with three black vertical stripes. Back rufous 

 ■or rusty barred with blackish, uniformly in the female, but sometimes the 

 bars almost lacking in the male. Male: Wings largely bluish slate, the 

 primaries blackish, bar-spotted on the inner webs with whitish. Outer 

 tail feathers barred with black and whitish, middle feathers rufous, and all 

 with a broad subterminal band of black and a whitish tip. Under parts 

 bufify white to ocherous, marked more or less, especially on the sides and 

 flanks, with roundish back spots. Female: Wings and tail rufous, barred 

 ■with black like the back; under parts dingy white, streaked with brown. 

 Bill bluish; cere and legs yellow; iris brown. 



Length 10-11.5 inches; extent 22-24.5; wing 7-7.5; tail 4.75-5; weight 

 4 ounces. 



This hawk can scarcely be mistaken for any other native species. Its 

 falconine shape and colors distinguish it easily from the Sharp-shinned 

 hawk and its smaller size, lighter proportions, longer tail, and colors are 

 quite unlike the Pigeon hawk. 



Distribution. As a summer resident it is found in every part of New 

 York State. Though less numerous during migrations than several other 

 species, and in the wooded districts not so common a stunmer resident as 

 the Red-tailed, Cooper and Sharp-shinned hawks, it is probable that it 

 is more generally distributed in New York than any other of the family. 

 From Long Island to John Brown's grave and Plattsburg, and from West- 



