118 



AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. 



liant orange ; the former has the tail rounded at the end, the latter 

 slightly forked. Such essential differences never take place be- 

 tween two individuals of the same species. It ought, however, to 

 be remarked, that in all the figures and descriptions I have hitherto 

 met with of the bird now before us, the iris is represented of a 

 bright golden color ; but in all the specimens I have shot I uniform- 

 ly found the eye very dark, almost black, resembling a globe of 

 black glass. No doubt the golden color of the iris would give the 

 figure of the bird a more striking appearance; but in works of na- 

 tural history to sacrifice truth to mere picturesque eftect is de- 

 testable; tho, I fear, but too often put in practice. 



The nest of this species is usually built in a hollow tree; gene- 

 rally pretty high up, where the top or a large limb has been broken 

 off. I have never seen its eggs ; but have been told that the female 

 generally lays four or five, which are of a light brownish yellow 

 color, spotted with a darker tint; the young are fed on grasshop- 

 pers, mice, and small birds, the usual food of the parents. 



The habits and manners of this bird are well known. It flies 

 rather irregularly, occasionally suspending itself in the air, hover- 

 ing over a particular spot for a minute or two, and then shooting 

 off in another direction. It perches on the top of a dead tree, or 

 pole in the middle of a field or meadow, and as it alights shuts its 

 long wings so suddenly that they seem instantly to disappear; it 

 sits here in an almost perpendicular position, sometimes for an 

 hour at a time, frequently jerking its tail, and reconnoitring the 

 ground below, in every direction, for mice, lizards, &c. It ap- 

 proaches the farm-house, particularly in the morning, skulking 

 about the barn-yard for mice or young chickens. It frequently 

 plunges into a thicket after small birds, as if by random; but al- 

 ways with a particular, and generally a fatal, aim. One day I ob- 

 served a bird of this species perched on the highest top of a large 

 poplar, on the skirts of the wood; and was in the act of raising the 

 gun to my eye when he swept down with the rapidity of an arrow 



