Kites, Hawks, Eagles, etc. 



grass itself, for it is a low percher too. Because its quarry is 

 humble, and farmers, on tlie wliole, appreciate its service in de- 

 stroying meadow mice, crickets, grasshoppers, and other pests, 

 this bird suffers comparatively little persecution, and still remains 

 one of the most widely distributed and common of its tribe. 

 That it occasionally preys upon small birds, when other food 

 fails, cannot be denied ; but nearly one-half of all the stomachs 

 examined by Mr. Fisher, for the Department of Agriculture, con- 

 tained mice. 



In the nesting season especially, the harrier belies that 

 name, but, proving his title to Circus, his Latin one, wheels 

 round and round and floats high above the earth, describing some 

 beautiful evolutions as he goes, that are calculated simply to 

 stimulate afresh the ardor of his well beloved, since evidence 

 strongly points to a life partnership between the mates. Soaring 

 in the sky, suddenly he falls, turning several somersaults in the 

 descent. ' 'At other times, " says Mr. Ernest Seton Thompson, "he 

 flies across the marsh in a course which would outline a gigantic 

 saw, each of the descending parts being done in a somersault, 

 and accompanied by screeching notes which form the only love 

 song within the range of his limited powers." All hawks have 

 a screaming, harsh cry, not distinctly different in the different 

 species to serve as a clew to identity except to those well up in 

 field practice ; but the white lower back of the harrier, its long 

 tail, and its terrestrial habits serve to identify it in any phase of 

 plumage. Owing to its long wings, it appears much larger in 

 the air than on the ground. Four to six dull or bluish white eggs, 

 unmarked, are laid in May, in a nest built of twigs, hay, and 

 weeds, on the ground; yet the clumsy affair was the joint effort 

 of the mates, that also take turns in sitting and in feeding the 

 young. 



Sharp-shinned Hawk 



(Accipiter veloxj 



Called a/so: PIGEON HAWK; LITTLE BLUE DARTER 



Length — Male lo to 12 inches; female 12 to 14 inches. 

 Male and Female — Upper parts slaty gray. Tail, which is about 3 

 inches longer than tips of wings and nearly square, is ashy 



312 



