SPARROW-HAWK AND DUCK-HAAVK 



227 



number of grasshoppers it consumes in a year 

 is enormous. It never molests poultry, and 

 when insects are obtainable never kills a song- 

 bird, but it does destroy great numbers of mice. 

 Dr. Fisher reports that of 320 stomachs exam- 

 ined, 215 contained insects; 29, spiders; 89, 

 mice; 12, other mammals; 53, small birds; 1 

 game-bird, and 29 were empty. Many stomachs 

 contained from 10 to 35 grasshoppers each, and 

 of other insects, from 25 to 40 in one bird was 

 of common occurrence. 



It must be noted at this point that when the 

 Sparrow-Hawk is rearing its young, it does some- 

 times catch young chickens; but the extreme 

 infrequency of this may be judged from the fact 

 that in the entire series of 320 specimens ex- 

 amined at Washington, taken at all seasons 

 from January to December, and throughout a 

 wide range of localities, not one stomach con- 

 tained any remains of a domestic bird. In the 

 early spring, before grasshoppers come, Sparrow- 

 Hawks often follow a plough very closely, to 

 capture the mice that are ploughed up. Some- 

 times this bird is half domestic in its habits, and 

 nests in buildings erected by man. Wherever 

 it is found, it should be a welcome visitor. 



The Pigeon-Hawk 1 is a slightly larger bird 

 than the preceding, very destructive to song- 

 birds, of little use to man, and deserves to be 

 shot wherever found. It kills sparrows, thrushes, 

 goldfinches, vireos, bobolinks, swifts, and a host 

 of other species. Out of 5G specimens examined 

 by Dr. Fisher, 41 contained .small song-birds, 

 and 2 poultry; 2 only had mice, and 16 insects. 

 This is a bird of plain colors, being bluish-gray 

 or brownish above, and lighter below. 



Apparently the Duck Hawk,"^ a geographic 

 race of the Peregrine Falcon, never devours a 

 mouse or an insect save by mistake. Out of 

 20 specimens, 7 contained game-birds or poultry, 



9 had eaten song-birds, only 2 contained insects, 

 and 1 a mouse. You may know this bird by 

 the great size and strength of his "pickers and 

 .stealers." It can best be studied with a rope, a 

 basket, and a chokebore shot-gun loaded with 

 No. 6 shot. 



First shoot both male and female birds, then 



' Fal'co col-um-ba'ri-us. Length of male, about 



10 inches; female, 2 to 3 inches more. 



'Fal'co per-e-gri'nus an-a'tum. Length of male, 

 17 inches; female, 19 inches. 



collect the nest, and the eggs or young, whichever 

 may be present. In doing this, however, be 

 careful not to shoot the Red-Tailed or Red- 

 Shouldered Hawk, — both good friends of ours, 

 who are entitled to protection. A Duck-Hawk 

 has 710 red nor decided brown upon it, anywhere. 

 In general effect it is a dull black bird with a 

 white breast and throat, and white abdomen 

 cross-barred with black. It inhabits all of 

 America north of Chili. 



The time was when the Bald Eagle,'' or White- 

 Headed Eagle, was known to e\'ery human be- 

 ing within the limits of the United Stages. To- 

 day there are probably two million men in 

 this country, speaking foreign languages only, 

 but voting regularly and persistently, who do 



SPARROW-?IAWK. 



not know an Eagle from a jiarrot, nor the num- 

 ber of stripes there are in Old Glory. It is re- 

 lated by a reliable eye-witness that when an es- 

 caped parrot recently perched in one of the trees 

 of City Hall Square, New York City, a dispute 



' Ilal-i-ae-e'lus leu-co-ccjih'a-lva. A^'erage length 

 of male, about 34 inches; female, 3S inches- spread 

 of wmgs, from 7 to S feet. See plate on page 170 



