SOME OHIO BIRDS 
55 
young - rabbits, shrews and moles. Poultry is seldom touched, ex¬ 
cept in the form of offal. It is impossible that any except disabled 
birds are taken by this slow flying hawk. (Fisher). This is the 
most abundant large Hawk in most sections of the state. Prejudice 
should be laid aside and protection given to this valuable species. 
SPARROW HAWK, Falco sparverius spai'verius Linn. 
The commonest as well as the smallest and best known of our 
Hawks. It is a resident species in all parts of the state, but is less 
common during the winter, particularly in the northern counties. 
Its call is a series of high pitched notes, sounding like kil-ly-kil-ly- 
kil-ly-kil-ly, uttered in rapid succession, and is a familiar sound in 
towns and cities, where it goes in pursuit of House Sparrows. In 
the country, this little Falcon hunts over meadows for its favorite 
diet of grasshoppers and crickets. Its flight is not usually rapid, and 
is frequently arrested, while on hovering wings, the bird scans the 
ground for signs of prey. Like most Raptors, this species remains 
paired through life. Either a natural cavity or the unused excava¬ 
tion of a Flicker is usually chosen for a nesting site. It is very 
courageous in defence of its young, driving off even the Red-tailed 
Hawk, if one appears in the vicinity of the nest; with the same zeal¬ 
ous care, it guards its hunting ground against intrusion. Its diet is 
largely insects; grasshoppers, and crickets when plentiful, compris¬ 
ing the bulk; at other times, the deficiency is made up of other in¬ 
sects, of spiders, small rodents, snakes, lizards, and small birds. 
That this species suffered more, when bounty was paid for the 
destruction of Hawks, than any other species, is confirmed by Mr. 
W. B. Hall of Wakeman, Ohio, as follows: “The Sparrow Hawk is 
a most persistent enemy of the grasshopper tribe. While the so- 
called Hawk law was in force in Ohio, I was township clerk in my 
native village and issued certificates to the number of eighty-six, 
forty-six being for the Sparrow Hawk. I examined the stomachs, and 
found forty-five of them to contain the remains of grasshoppers and 
the elytra of beetles, while the remaining one contained the fur and 
bones of a meadow mouse (Avicola riflarius).” This useful bird, 
under the name of Mouse Hawk, is now specifically mentioned in the 
list of protected species. 
