BIRDS OF PREY 



[358.1] Merlin. Falco wsulon. 



This common European species was once acci- 

 dentally taken in southern Greenland. Their eggs 

 are generally laid on the ground on cliffs or banks. 



359. Aplomado Falcon. 



Falco fusco-cceridescens. 



Range. — Tropical America north to Mexican 

 boundary of the United States. 



This handsone and strikingly marked Falcon is 

 found in limited numbers within the United States, 

 but south is common and widely distributed. They 

 nest at a low elevation, in bushes or small trees, 

 making their rude nests of twigs, lined with a 

 few grasses. They lay three, and sometimes four, 

 eggs which have a creamy white ground color, 

 finely dotted with cinnamon, and with heavy 

 blotches of brown. Size 1.75x1.30. 



Buff 



[3.'))).].] Kestrel. Falco tiiiniincnliis. 



Range. — Whole of Europe; accidental on the 

 coast of Massachusetts. 



This species is very similar in size and colora- 

 tion to the American Sparrow Hawk. They are 

 much more abundant than the Sparrow Hawk is 

 in this country and frequently nest about houses, 

 in hollow trees, on rafters of barns, or on ledges 

 and embankments. Their eggs are of a reddish 

 buff color, speckled and blotched with reddish 

 brown, they being mucli darker than tliose of the 

 American Sparrow Hawk. 



Aplomado Falcon 



Desert Sparrow Hawk 



Reddish buft 



360;i 



Desert Sparrow Hawk. Falcu upari^erius phalm-i 



Range. — Western United States from British Columbia south to Mexico. 

 This variety is slightly larger and paler than the eastern; form. There are no 

 differences in the identiflcation of the two varieties. 



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