46 
BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
Haliaetus leucocephalus. Bal^ Eagle. 352. 
Now and then a Bald Eagle ma}' be observed down by Great Bay 
either at rest or soaring high overhead, but such an occurrence is 
comparatively rare, for I do not average to see one a year. They are 
likely to be seen here at any season, looking for fish, which they 
prefer above all other articles of diet. While they have an unenviable 
reputation as parasites upon the Osprey, as a rule they catch fish on 
their own hook, and undoubtedly procure most of their food by honest 
efforts. They are generally wary and difficult to approach, but on one 
occasion, a few summers since, a fine adult specimen at Adams's 
Point allowed a whole barge load of nature students to alight and 
examine him at a distance of fifteen rods. 
The majority of this species which we see are immature, lacking tb.e 
white head and tail which is the insignia of age. 
Falco coiumbarius. Pigeon Haavk. 357. 
The Pigeon is a regular but rather scarce migrant, usually appear- 
ing in May. August, and September. In size and color it bears a 
strong resemblance to the Sharp-shinned Hawk, but its acute wings 
and steady, rapid flight enable one to recognize it as it flies ; while its 
toothed bill is diagnostic, when in hand, as was indicated in the 
account of the Sharp-shinned Hawk. 
Falco sparverious. Sparrow Hawk. 360. 
The Sparrow Hawk is a summer resident, in small numbers, but 
during the migration periods it is common. April 13 is the earliest 
spring record that I have noted. Few are seen in the fall after 
October i. Insects constitute their principal diet. A September 
stomach which I opened was filled with grasshoppers, although the 
bird was killed at half past eight in the morning. They hunt in fields 
and pastures, perching on some high object where they can keep 
watch of the ground beneath and around them. On May 16, 1900, I 
found a pair nesting near Piscataqua bridge. The nest was in a 
hollow maple which stood in a pasture but a few rods from an unoc- 
cupied house. It had been visited by some boys, who told me it 
contained five eggs and that the female had been sitting three or four 
days. The boys did not molest the nest and the hawks did not 
seriously object to their coming. I was informed that a pair had been 
in that vicinity several summers, but that that was the first season 
