14 
USE FT I. 151 RDS 
fourteen stomachs with the following' results; Seven had only 
held iniee in their stomachs ; three, frogs ; two small birds 
(wairl)lers) ; one, a few feather, apparently of a s])arrow, and frag- 
ments of insects ; one, a large number of grasshoppers, with a small 
quantity of hair, evidently of a young rabbit. This bird is recorded 
as having been observed in southern Minnesota in January. 
KINGBIRD. 
( Plate 2, Fig. 12. ) 
ddiis is the policeman of our garden and orchard, bravely attack- 
ing large hawks and crows which might be disposed to do mischief. 
It is a typical dycatcher and consumes an enormous number of 
insects and deserA'es our protection at all times. Wdiat few honey 
liees he takes ajipear to be mostly drones ; examination of six hun- 
dred and thirty-four stomachs showed only 61 bees in 22 stomachs. 
Of these 51 were useless drones. On the other hand, it devours 
robber dies which catch and destroy honey bees. ( Frcjin Piol. 
Suio’ey PUill. U. S. Uept. of Agr.) Length, eight and a half inches. 
U])per parts, dark gray, almost black on liead. Concealed dame- 
colored crest on head; under parts, wdiitish. 
SPARROW HAWK. 
(Plate 2, Fig. 13.; 
( )ur smallest and most loeautiful hawk. Common in delds and 
along- roadsides in the late summer and fall, at v Inch time it con- 
sumes large numbers of grasshoppers. It also eats other insects, 
caterpillars, spiders, and at least one-quarter of its food consists 
of held mice, shrews, and deld-dwelling house nrice. It occasionally 
jrreys upon young birds but this is not a common trait of this 
species. Ouoting from a Biological Survey Bulletin: “(Jut of 
four hundred and ten stomachs examined, three hundred and four- 
teen were found to contain insects, one hundred and twenty-nine 
small mammals, and seventy, small birds-” J\’e unhesitatingly class 
these amongst our useful birds. It is found throughout the bruited 
States, breeding wherever it is a summer resident ; is about ten 
inches long*; back, brownish red or rufous with black bars. Flack 
band at end of rufous tail, the extreme end of which is white. Head 
bluish with brown shadings. Lhider ])arts and sides spotted with 
black. The above brief description ap])lies to the male bird. A 
hole in a tree is utilized as a nest; eggs, whitish or creamy, three 
to seven in number. 
