142 



OUR WINTE,R BIRDS 



believe that he was invited to partake of a feast 

 which had been prepared for him? 



Contrary to the rule among birds, the female 

 hawk is larger than the male. This sexual differ- 

 ence in size is well marked in the Darter and Sharp- 





Sharp-shinned Hawk Pursuing a Redpoll 



shin, as our figures ( Nos. 9-12) of them clearly 

 indicate. The Sharp-shin is the smaller of the two, 

 but a female of this species is nearly as large as a 

 male Darter. While it is therefore always possible 

 to identify a male Sharp-shin and a female Darter, 

 the male Darter and female Sharp-shin cannot cer- 

 tainly be distinguished in life. Indeed, it sometimes 

 puzzles an expert to name specimens of them, when 

 in the streaked, immature plumage. 



