SPARROW-HAWK AND DUCK-HAWK 
227 
number of grasshoppers it consumes in a year 
is enormous. It never molests poultry, and 
when insects are obtainable never kills a song- 
bird, but it does destroy great numbers of mice. 
Dr. Fisher reports that of 320 stomachs exam- 
ined, 215 contained insects; 29, spiders; 89, 
mice; 12, other mammals; 53, small birds; 1 
game-bird, and 29 were empty. Many stomachs 
contained from 10 to 35 grasshoppers each, and 
of other insects, from 25 to 40 in one bird was 
of common occurrence. 
It must be noted at this point that when the 
Sparrow-Hawk is rearing its young, it does some- 
times catch young chickens; but the extreme 
infrequency of this may be judged from the fact 
that in the entire series of 320 specimens ex- 
amined at Washington, taken at all seasons 
from January to December, and throughout a 
wide range of localities, not one stomach con- 
tained any remains of a domestic bird. In the 
early spring, before grasshoppers come, Sparrow- 
Hawks often follow a plough very closely, to 
capture the mice that are ploughed up. Some- 
times this bird is half domestic in its habits, and 
nests in buildings erected by man. Wherever 
it is found, it should be a welcome visitor. 
The Pigeon-IIawk 1 is a slightly larger bird 
than the preceding, very destructive to song- 
birds, of little use to man, and deserves to be 
shot wherever found. It kills sparrows, thrushes, 
goldfinches, vireos, bobolinks, swifts, and a host 
of other species. Out of 56 specimens examined 
by Dr. Fisher, 41 contained small song-birds, 
and 2 poultry; 2 only had mice, and 16 insects. 
This is a bird of plain colors, being bluish-gray 
or brownish above, and lighter below. 
Apparently the Duck Hawk , 1 2 3 a geographic 
race of the Peregrine Falcon, never devours a 
mouse or an insect save by mistake. Out of 
20 specimens, 7 contained game-birds or poultry, 
9 had eaten song-birds, only 2 contained insects, 
and 1 a mouse. You may know this bird by 
the great size and strength of his “pickers and 
stealers. It can best be studied with a rope, a 
basket, and a chokebore shot-gun loaded with 
No. 6 shot. 
First shoot both male and female birds, then 
1 Fal'co col-um-ba'ri-us. Length of male, about 
10 inches; female, 2 to 3 inches more. 
2 Fal'co per-e-gri'nus an-a'tum. Length of male, 
17 inches; female, 19 inches. 
collect the nest, and the eggs or young, whichever 
may be present. In doing this, however, be 
careful not to shoot the Red-Tailed, or Red- 
Shouldered Hawk , — both good friends of ours, 
who are entitled to protection. A Duck-Hawk 
has no red nor decided brown upon it, anywhere. 
In general effect it is a dull black bird with a 
white breast and throat, and white abdomen 
cross-barred with black. It inhabits all of 
America north of Chili. 
The time was when the Bald Eagle , 3 or White- 
Headed Eagle, was known to every human be- 
ing within the limits of the United States. To- 
day there are probably two million men in 
this country, speaking foreign languages only, 
but voting regularly and persistently, who do 
SPARROW-HAWK. 
not know an Eagle from a parrot, nor the num- 
ber of stripes there are in Old Glory. It is re- 
lated by a reliable eye-witness that when an es- 
caped parrot recently perched in one of the trees 
of City Hall Square, New York City, a dispute 
3 Hal-i-ae-e'tus leu-co-ceph'a-lus. Average length 
of male, about 34 inches; female, 38 inches; spread 
of wings, from 7 to 8 feet. See plate on page 170. 
