14 
BIRDS OF PREY. 
the maritime districts of New England. As they were seen in 
St. Domingo, by Veillot, abundantly in April and May, the 
breeding-season, we may naturally conclude that this species 
has a much greater predilection for the warm than the cold 
climates. On the south side of the equator, even in Cayenne 
and Paraguay, they are still found, in all of which countries 
they jrrobably breed. 
.A.ccording to the habits of this tribe of rapacious birds 
it appears that the nest is built in a hollow, shattered, or 
decayed tree at a considerable elevation. 
Its motions appear somewhat capricious ; it occasionally 
hovers with beating wings, reconnoitring for prey, and soon 
impatiently darts off to a distance to renew the same ma- 
nceuvre. In the winter, however, it is most commonly seen 
perched on some dead branch, or on a pole or stalk in the 
fields, often at a little distance from the ground, keeping up a 
frequent jerking of the tail, and attentively watching for some 
such humble game as mice, grasshoppers, or lizards. At this 
time it is likewise so familiar as to enter the garden, orchard, 
or premises near to the house, and shows but little alarm on 
being approached. It is, however, by no means deficient in 
courage, and, like the larger Falcons, often makes a fatal and 
rap)id sweejr upon Sparrows or those small birds which are its 
accustomed ])rey. 
Instead of being a mere straggler outside the warmer portions of 
the United States, as Nuttall appears to have considered this Fal- 
con, it is quite common throughout most of the continent, and not 
only breeds in New England, but winters there. It breeds also 
throughout Canada, north to the lower fur countries, and retires to 
the Southern States during the cold weather. 
Note. — The Cuban Sparrow Haw’k {Falco sparverioides') 
has been found in Florida; and two examples of the Kestrel 
{Falco tinuncnlus) have been captured on this side of the Atlantic, 
■ — one off the coast of Greenland, and the other at Nantasket, 
Mass., in 1887. 
