172 AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. 
in the present instance, is given to the female of this species; both 
because she is the most courageous, the largest and handsomest of 
the two, best ascertained, and less subject to change of color than the 
male, who will require some further examination, and. more observa- 
tion, before we can venture to introduce him. ; ‘ 
This bird is a constant resident in almost every part of the United 
States, particularly in the states north of Maryland. In the Southern 
States there is a smaller species found, which is destitute of the black 
spots on the head; the legs are long and very slender, and the wings 
light blue. This has been supposed, by some, to be the male of the 
present species ; but this is an error.: The eye of the present species 
is dusky ; that of the smaller species a brilliant orange; the former 
nas the tail rounded at the end, the latter slightly forked. Such essen- 
tial differences never take place between two individuals of the same 
species. It ought, however, to be remarked, that-in all the figures and” 
descriptions I have hitherto met with of the bird now before us, the 
iris is represented of a bright goldencolor; but, in all.the specimens I 
have shot, I uniformly found the. eye very dark, almost black, resem- 
bling a globe of black glass. No doubt the golden color of the iris 
would give the figure of the bird a more striking appearance ; but, in 
works of natural history, to sacrifice truth to mere picturesque effect 
is detestable, though, I fear, but too often put in practice. 
The nest of this species is usually built in a hollow tree ; generally 
pretty high up, where the top, or a large limb, has been broken off. I 
have never seen its egas; but have. been told that the female gener- 
ally lays four or five, which are of a light brownish yellow color, spot- 
ted with a darker tint; the young are fed on grasshoppete, mice, and 
small birds, the usual food of the parents. ve 
The habits and manners of this bird are well known. It flies rather 
irregularly, occasionally suspending itself in the air, hovering over a 
particular spot for a minute or two, and then shooting off in another 
direction. It perches on the top of a dead tree or pole, in the middle 
of a field or meadow, and, as it alights, shuts its long wings so sud- 
denly, that they seem instantly to disappear ; it sits here in an almost 
perpendicular position, sometimes for an hour at a time, frequently 
jerking its tail, and reconnoitring the ground below, in every direc- 
tion, for mice, lizards, &c. It approaches the farm-house, particularly 
in the morning, skulking about the barn-yard for mice or young chick- 
ens. Itfrequently plunges into a thicket after small birds, as if by 
random, but always with a particular, and generally a fatal, aim. One 
day I observed a bird of this species perched on the highest top of a. 
large poplar, on the skirts of the wood, and was in the act of raising . 
the gun to my eye, when he swept down, with the rapidity of an ar- 
row, into a thicket of briers, about thirty yards off, where I shot him 
dead, and, on coming up, found the small Field Sparrow (Fig. 72) quiv- 
ering in his grasp. Both our aims had been taken in the same instant, 
and, unfortunately for him, both were fatal. It is particularly fond of 
watching along hedge-rows, and in orchards, where those small birds 
represented in the same plate usually resort. When grasshoppers,are 
plenty, they form a considerable part of its food. ° 
Though small snakes, mice, lizards, &c., be favorite morsels with 
