142 



FALCO. L. Falcons. 



173. FALCO COMMUNIS. Gm. Duck Ha^uk. Blackish ash with paler 

 waves; below whitish; barred; black cheek patches. L. 16; W. 13; T. 7. Not 

 abundant, but generally distributed. 



174. FALCO COLUMBARIUS. L. Pigeon Hawk. Ashy blue or blackish 

 above; variegated below ; two primaries emarginate. L. 13; W. 8; T. 5. 



175. FALCO SPARVERI US. L. Sparroio Hawk. Back tawny ; wings blu- 

 ish and black ; seven black blotches about head ; tail chestnut, with a broad black 

 band in male ; below white or tawny. Abundant in most parts of the State. This 

 graceful little hawk is quite plentiful during the summer and occasionally seen in 

 the winter. Breeds in deserted woodpeckers' holes in sycamore trees, usually about 

 forty or fifty feet from the ground. [Langdon.) This bird is worthy a quotation, 

 and we have one ever at hand if we follow the pleasant pages of Dr. Coues in 

 Birds of the Northwest : "Too small of frame, though stout-hearted enough, I 

 warrant, to commit depredations in the farmyard, subsisting on small insectivorous 

 birds, it is true, but also destroying countless field mice and noxious insects, he is 

 to be held a benefactor to the agriculturist. * * * No hawk is more abundant 

 in the West. Go where we may, in summer or winter, we shall before long see him 

 hovering over the fields, or perched, erect and motionless, on his outpost, sweeping 

 the ground below with keen, audacious eye. It is treacherous calm ; the ardor of 

 the falcon grows with restraint. An unlucky sparrow flirts in yonder bush, and 

 gives a flippant chirp — whish ! and it is all over. Poor little rollicking sparrow I 

 This is no easier for you to bear because it is a 'law of nature,' as we say. Who 

 is ever quite ready for the last ? What pang is taken away when the cry it extorts 

 is drowned in a sea of like lamentation ? We theorize best before the falcon's talori 

 strikes." 



ee. Claws all of same length, rounded beneath; tibial feathers close; plumage 

 compact, without aftershafts. 



PANDION. Savigny. Ospreys, 



176. P. HALL^TUS. (L.) Sav. Osprey. Fish Haivk. Dark brown ; head, 

 neck and under parts mostly white; feet very large; plumage oily, resisting water;, 

 compact, imbricated. L. 24 ; W. 20 ; T. 10. This remarkable hawk is not uncom- 

 mon during March or April, and again in September and October, along the lake 

 shore. It has been already mentioned as the bird which the American eagle robs 

 of its lawful game. On this account the generic name of the eagle was doubtless- 

 selected as the specific name of the osprey. 



FAMILY CATHARTID.^. 



{The New World Vultures.) 



Head and part of neck bare. Eyes lateral, not overhung. Ears small. Bill 

 lengthened, weak, and but little hooked ; nostrils perforate. Wings very long and 

 strong, giving a strength and grace of flight scarcely excelled. Hind toe short and 

 elevated ; front toes long, somewhat webbed, with rather weak and straightish 

 claws. Large turkey-like raptores, without the strength and spirit of the hawks- 



