58 
BIRDS OF PREY. 
European the wings extend to the end of the tail.) Tail rounded, 
black ; crossed with 8 narrow ash-colored bands. Beneath, yellow- 
ish-white, with the breast spotted with dark brown ; sides, femorals, 
and beneath, barred rather broadly with the same. The primaries 
and secondaries marked transversely on their inner vanes, with 
large oblong spots of ferruginous white. — Female . Note. This 
bird appeared to live along the sea coast, having in its stomach the 
remains of small birds, and of the Sanderling. As this species is not 
quoted by Temminck in his account of the Falcon, there is some 
reason to doubt the identity of the American and European species. 
AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWK. 
( Falco sparverius. Lin. Wilson, Am. Orn. ii. p. 117. pi. 16. fig. 1. 
[female,] and iv. p. 57. pi. 32. fig. 2. [male.] ) 
Spec. Charact. — Rufous, beneath nearly white, spotted with 
blackish-brown ; seven black curved spots disposed around the 
head. — Male , with the wing-coverts slate-blue; tail with a sin- 
gle sub terminal band, the two exterior feathers spotted with 
black. — Female and young , more banded and spotted; tail 
with numerous bands. 
This beautiful and singularly marked bird, appears 
to reside principally in the warmer parts of the United 
States. They are particularly abundant in the winter 
throughout South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Flor- 
ida, whither they assemble from the remote interior of 
the Northern States, wandering in summer as far as the 
Rocky Mountains, and were even seen by Dr. Richard- 
son in the remote latitude of 53 degrees ; these appear, 
however, to be only stragglers ; nor do they seem at all 
to visit 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 con- 
clude 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 
