126 OUR WINTER BIRDS 



ing Peregrine, evidently possesses enough true Fal- 

 con temperament and intelligence to learn to asso-. 

 ciate with man. 



The Peregrine preys exclusively upon birds, but 

 the Sparrow Hawk, in spite of its name, feeds 

 chiefly upon insects. The Peregrine goes boldly 

 forth in search of food, and strikes his victim on the 

 wing. The Sparrow Hawk believes in watchful 

 waiting, and captures his quarry on the ground. 

 Usually he has a favorite look-out on a dead stub, 

 a telegraph wire, or some similar perch from which 

 he can keep a close watch on the surrounding coun- 

 try. I have known them to use the staffs which 

 mark the holes of a golf course. The flag fluttering 

 at their feet might alarm most birds, but the Spar- 

 row Hawk accepts it as though it was his own 

 emblem of victory. Suddenly he starts and flies per- 

 haps fifty yards or more directly to the ground where 

 his marvelously sharp eyes have detected a grass- 

 hopper. If the insect should disappear he hovers 

 on rapidly beating wings directly above the place in 

 which he last saw it, waiting for another view and 

 an opportunity to strike, just as the Fish Hawk and 

 Kingfisher poise before plunging on their prey. 



Woe to the unsuspecting grasshopper that crawls 

 from beneath the ' protection of a sheltering leaf 

 when the Sparrow Hawk is watching nearby! 



