WINGED ROBBERS AND NEST-BUILDERS. 1 43 



given me in a letter from Maine, such a graphic 

 description of a marsh hawk while in this gorged 

 condition, that I cannot resist the impulse of quot- 

 ing from it. He says : — 



" I soon caught sight of my marsh hawk perched 

 on a broken birch about five feet from the ground. 

 I have no doubt his nest was near, but the bog was 

 so flooded by the rains that I gave up the attempt 

 to reach it. Meanwhile the bird sat hunched up 

 in true falcon fashion, looking stupidly from side 

 to side, occasionally uttering his cry, which resem- 

 bles the magnified twitter of a sparrow. He was 

 evidently disgusted with the rain and wind which 

 now and then blew his feathers the wrong way, 

 and made him look extremely foolish. As I ad- 

 vanced he shrugged his shoulders like a French- 

 man crying Oui, out, oui, and ruffled up his draggled 

 plumage with such a disconsolate expression, and 

 with apparent unwillingness to leave his post, that 

 I took pity on him and disturbed him no further." 



One of the smallest and most common of our 

 falcons is the sparrow hawk (Falco Sparverius) ; a 

 bird of strong peculiarities, sleek, trim, and a 

 winner in life's race. Although in the breeding 

 season, and in the midst of household cares, he 

 generally preys on the grasshoppers, crickets and 



