LAND BIRDS. 263 
7 contained poultry or game birds; 34, other birds; 57, mice; 22, other 
mammals; 7, reptiles; 2, frogs; and 14, insects. 
This hawk is peculiar in nesting always on the ground, where it builds 
a somewhat bulky nest, mainly of weed-stalks and grass, and lays from 
four to eight bluish-white, unspotted eggs, the usual number being five or 
six. Occasionally the ground color is pure white and not infrequently 
there are a few pale brown spots. The eggs average 1.80 by 1.41 inches. 
The period of incubation is about four weeks. 
In spring these hawks are seen always in pairs, but after the young are 
able to fly they often hunt in family parties, and later in the season gather 
into loose flocks of twenty to fifty individuals. Their call note is said to 
be “a peevish scream, not unlike that of the Red-tailed Hawk, though not 
so strong” (Bendire, Life Hist. N. Am. Birds, I, 185). 
This is one of the birds most often killed by sportsmen, few of whom can 
resist the temptation of so faira mark. This is much to be regretted, since 
the bird does almost no harm and renders incalculable service by the de- 
struction of mice and insects. In Nebraska Professor Aughey found it 
feeding freely on the Rocky Mountain locust during locust years, and the 
five stomachs which he examined showed an average of fifty locusts (1st 
Rep. U. 8. Entom. Com., App. 2, p. 48). 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
Face with an imperfect ruff, somewhat as in owls. Adult male: Mostly light bluish 
gray above, more or less streaked with white, the upper tail-coverts pure white; under 
parts nearly white, usually with a bluish tinge, and rather faintly streaked with grayish 
or buffy; wings tipped with blackish, forming an excellent field mark; tail bluish gray 
with six or more narrow dark bars, the sub-terminal bar being broad and very dark. Adult 
female: General color deep brown above, streaked with rusty; under parts buffy or 
whitish, streaked with brown; upper tail-coverts white as in male; tail brown with six 
or seven distinct blackish bars. Young: Similar to adult female but darker everywhere, 
and tail with only four dark bands. 
Length 19.50 to 24 inches; wing 12.90 to 16; tail 8.80 to 10.50. 
135. Sharp-shinned Hawk. Accipiter velox (Wils.). (332) 
Synonyms: Pigeon Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, Bird Hawk, Chicken Hawk, Bullet Hawk. 
—Falco velox, Wils., 1812.—Falco fuscus, Gmel., 1789.—Accipiter fuscus, Bonap., 1838, 
and authors generally.—Nisus fuscus, B. B. & R., 1875. 
Plate XVIII. 
Known by the small size, comparatively short wings and long tail, and 
especially by the slender legs and feet and the remarkably long toes. As 
with many hawks, adult plumage is not acquired for several years and the 
fully mature birds are entirely different in color and markings from younger 
ones. This species is not likely to be confounded with any other save the 
Cooper’s Hawk, but the latter is commonly much larger and the end of tail 
rounded instead of square. 
Distribution.—North America in general; south to Panama. Breeds 
throughout its North American range. 
This little hawk is known in different parts of the state by different 
names, as indicated above, but it is most often called ‘Sparrow Hawk,” 
a name to which it has every natural right, since it feeds largely upon 
small birds; but unfortunately the name “Sparrow Hawk” is the one given 
