298 
18613. 
Peb, 36, 
1880. 
Nov, 16. 
* 28. 
1874. 
Sept*25. 
Astur atricapillus. 
Middlesex County, Mass. 
Saw a fine adult bird in the pine ( Pinus rigida ) 
woods behind Mt.Auburn. He alighted in a high tree 
and on seeing me immediately squatted lengthwise on the 
limb like a Nighthawk. I fired and missed when he made 
off through the woods with groat swiftness keeping near 
the ground tv/isting and dodging between the trees in a 
remarkable manner. 
Saw an adult in Lexington. 
An adult female shot by Arthur Robbins at Carlisle. 
It came into the poul ry yard as the family vrere at 
breakfast, and pouncing or> a largo hen dragged her out 
into the road in front of the house, v/hore it tors shreds 
of flesh from the poor bird’s back without stopping to 
kill ii*r. When Mr,Robbins appeared it loft its victim 
and flew to an oak on the edge of a neighboring woods 
where ho stalked and shot it. The hen was found to be 
still alive. This hawk was absolutely free from para¬ 
sites, Its flesh had none of that rank odor so univer¬ 
sal in birds of prey. Iris deep orange; tarsi, pale 
yollovfish green. 
While eating lunch in a cool maple grove by a brook 
in Concord, a large Hav/k which I vj-ith some hesitation 
identified as this species dashed over head and plunged 
among a flock of Robins; but missing his aim turned 
quickly and with the speed of lightening shot across an 
opening and seized an unfortunate Flicker in some wild 
apple trees on the further side, iirmediately dropping to 
the ground v/ith his prize. The poor bird when caught 
uttered loud cries of pain which, although gradually 
grovring fainter, wore kept up unceasingly for at least 
five minutes. Going to the spot half an hour later wo 
started the Hawk from the ground, where we found the head 
and neck of the Woodpecker, all that remained besides a 
few feathers. 
