FALCONS AND CARACARAS: RICHARDSON HAWK 193 
A specimen taken at Lake La Jara on September 18, 1904, was in 
fresh fall plumage with just a trace of abrasion on the tip of the tail. 
The skin at the base of its bill, and its upper eyelid, were bright lemon 
yellow. Its stomach contained the feet and feathers of a small bird. 
In southeastern Alaska, Mr. Alfred M. Bailey found “these fast 
flying little Hawks . . . fairly plentiful during the fall migration, 
when both young and adults are to be noted. They were most numer¬ 
ous during September, high above timberline, where they were sailing 
over the mountain tops, or swooping low over rugged crests as they 
hunted for food” (1927, 205). 
Additional Literature.—Brewster, William, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 
Harvard College, LXVT, 355-362, 1925. 
RICHARDSON PIGEON HAWK: Falco columbarius richardsoni Ridgway 
Description. —Similar to the Pigeon Hawk, but lighter and slightly larger; 
middle tail feathers with five dark and six light bands. 
Range. —Breeds in Great Plains region from middle Saskatchewan and southern 
Alberta to Manitoba (3 records, Taverner), North Dakota, and northern Montana 
(probably northern South Dakota and northern Wyoming); winters south to 
southern Lower California, northwestern Mexico, and southern Texas; casual in 
California and Missouri. 
State Records. —One Richardson Pigeon Hawk was killed and three others 
seen at Coleman's Ranch near Silver City in midwinter about 1904 (Hunn), and 
a female was taken at Perico, November 20, 1893 (Seton), but these are apparently 
the only records for New Mexico. Since the bird’s breeding grounds lie directly 
to the north, in the northern United States and southern Canada, and the species 
does not go much farther south than New Mexico to spend the winter, it is probable 
that it is not rare locally in the State at this season.—W. W. Cooke. 
DESERT SPARROW HAWK: Falco sparverius phalaena (Lesson) 
Plates 9 and 11 
Description. — Male: Length 8.7-10.6 inches, wing 7.5, tail 5.3, bill .5, tarsus 
1.5. Female: Length 10.7 inches, wing 7.7, tail 5.3, bill .5, tarsus 1.5 (Mearns, 
average of 13 adult males, of 11 adult females, Auk, IX, 265, 1892). Wing with 
two outer quills cut out. Adult male: Side of head with two vertical black stripes; 
crown mainly rufous, buffy brown (summer) or (winter), bordered with bluish gray, 
wing coverts bluish gray; rest of upperparts buffy brown or pale cinnamon-rufous , 
back arid wings spotted with black, tail with black subterminal band and light tip; 
underparts buffy, spotted on sides; bill bluish at base, darkening to blue-black at 
tip; cere and edges of bill greenish yellow in young, becoming yellow or orange- 
yellow in adults; legs and feet yellow, deepening with age. Adult female: Similar 
but duller and back, icings, and tail barred with dusky. Young: Similar to adults, 
of same sex. 
Range. —Breeds from central British Columbia and southwestern Saskatchewan, 
Wyoming, and western Nebraska south to western Texas, Durango, New Mexico, 
and southern California; winters occasionally from British Columbia and Colorado 
south to Guatemala. 
State Records. —The most widely distributed hawk of the State, the Desert 
Sparrow Hawk occurs throughout the whole of New Mexico from the lowest, hottest 
