153 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
Comparisons. —Somewhat longer and slimmer than Sparrow Hawk or Pigeon 
Hawk with which it is sometimes confounded; tail longer, wings shorter, more 
rounded. Flight an alternation of quick wing beats and sailing (Forbush). (See 
pp. 192, 193, and Plate 11.) 
Range. —North and Middle America. Breeds throughout most of United States 
and Canada from northwestern Alaska, northwestern Mackenzie, central Manitoba, 
northern Ontario to Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf coast, Texas, New 
Mexico, and Arizona; winters from southeastern Alaska, southern British Columbia, 
western Montana, southern Nebraska, Illinois, and southern Ontario to Maine south 
to Guatemala and (casually) to Panama. 
State Records. —The male Sharp-shinned Hawk taken June 22, 1909, at 9,000 
feet on Mount Sedgwick (Goldman) was undoubtedly breeding and the same is 
probably true both of the one seen July 8, 1894, in the Pinos Altos near Silver City 
(Fisher), and the one taken late in July, 1909, in the Sacramento Mountains near 
Cloudcroft (Green); one was also taken June 26, 1892, on the east side of the San Luis 
Mountains, just over the New Mexico line in Chihuahua (Mearns). [They are 
observed sparingly in New Mexico in summer, though no nests were located, 1916— 
1918. On June 22, 1919, two, which were very likely breeding birds, were seen on 
Pot Creek southeast of Taos, 7,500-8,000 feet. On May 8, 1920, one was seen on top 
of the Animas Mountains (Ligon). At Lake Burford, May 23-June 19, 1918, they 
were nesting in small numbers (Wetmore). In Santa Fe Canyon, they were seen 
twice in the nesting season (Jensen, 1922).] 
The species is evidently rare in summer in the State but becomes common in fall 
migration as shown by the following dates: Sierra Grande above 8,000 feet, August 
14, 1903 (Howell); Red River near the Hondo at 8,400 feet, August 15, 1904, and 
Santa Clara Canyon, August 24, 1906 (Bailey); and Beaver Lake, August 26, 1908 
(Birdseye). During the migration it ranges at least to 10,000 feet—San Juan Moun¬ 
tains September 9, 1904 (Bailey), and Mogollon Mountains about October 25, 1908 
(Goldman), occurring also in the lower parts of the State at Gila, Lake Valley, and 
Las Cruces, though most common at this season between 6,000 and 9,000 feet, where 
the small birds on which it feeds are found most abundantly. One was taken at about 
6,000 feet near Koehler Junction, Colfax County, October 21, 1913 (Kalmbach). 
In winter it is common (Ligon). One was shot December 21, 1900, at Tijeras 
(Birtwell); one late in January, 1894, at San Marcial (Loring); one was reported 
December 25, 1902, at Albuquerque (Harman); they were common in the Guadalupe 
Mountains south of Queen, December 31, 1915 (Ligon); and taken at Silver City, 
February 13, 1916 (Kellogg); but the majority leave the State in late October or 
November and return In early March. The hist seen at Chloride in the spring was 
April 25, 1915 (Ligon).—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. —A remodeled one of crow, magpie, or squirrel; or if new, made of sticks, 
usually sparsely lined with inner bark or green leaves, preferably in a conifer. Eggs: 
4 or 5, bluish or greenish white, fading to grayish white, variably spotted and blotched 
with brown, sometimes almost entirely covered. 
Food. —Mainly birds, but also young chickens, and rarely mice and grasshoppers. 
Of 107 stomachs examined, 103 contained the remains of birds. An immature bird, 
apparently still being fed by its mother, when shot in Santa Clara Canyon had its 
crop full of small lizards (Scaloporus), while its gizzard contained the feet, bill, and 
feathers of a Pygmy Nuthatch, a lizard, and one large caterpillar (Bailey). 
General Habits. —The Long-tailed Accipiters capture their prey, 
as Doctor Fisher, in his Hawk and Owl Bulletin, describes it, mainly by 
“quick turns and rapid dashes from cover, the victim being grasped 
