ABOUT THE SPARROW-HAWK. 
131 
THE HAWKS OF THE WESTERN WORLD. 
The hawks are well represented in North America. Bold of 
heart, and fierce of temper, and swift of wing, they command our 
admiration, though we recoil from their sanguinary propensities. One 
of the most graceful in form is the swallow-tailed, but this species 
seldom ranges further north than Pennsylvania. In the Southern 
States he is on good terms with the farmers, owing to the forage he 
makes against a certain troublesome kind of cicada, or locust. He 
feeds also upon snakes, lizards, and grasshoppers ; and such being 
his principal food, he is naturally attracted to the prairies as the 
most abundant feeding-grounds. 
The sparrow-hawk is found all over the United States, — building 
his nest generally high up in a hollow tree, and frequenting indif- 
erently the fields, the woods, and the neighbourhood of human 
habitations. He preys upon leverets, young rabbits, field-mice, and 
all kinds of small birds; in truth, he is a wholesale murderer, a 
brigand of the air; and his ill repute can hardly be forgotten even 
in our recognition of his graceful form, spirit, agility, and daring. 
The members of his tribe are generally distinguished for their keen- 
ness of sight; but the sparrow-hawk's range of distinct vision can- 
not, as Macgillivray remarks, be very great, nor does he appear to 
observe birds in a hedge or field at the distance of some hundred 
yards, while his low flight — at an elevation of only eight or ten 
feet — indicates a correspondingly short extent of sight. But then 
the quickness of his perception is wonderful ; for when rushing 
along at full speed he marks any object favourably situated for 
capture. 
The intrusion of a band of armed desperadoes into a peaceful 
community does not produce a more general alarm than the appearance 
of a sparrow-hawk in a poultry-yard, — or, to take a more picturesque 
example, in a grove frequented by the smaller birds. As if by some 
electric touch, they all become aware of his presence, and a sudden hush 
of apprehension falls upon them. The sparrows out in the open 
breathe quiet sounds of warning, and retire to what shelter they can 
