Identifier: cu31924090299755 (find matches)
Title: Birds that hunt and are hunted: life histories of one hundred and seventy birds of prey, game birds and water-fowls
Year: 1904 (1900s)
Authors: Blanchan, Neltje
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: New York, Doubleday, Page & company
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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ing northern South America and the West Indies, itis as a spring and autumn migrant that we know the pigeonhawk here. Its upper parts vary between slaty blue and brown-ish gray, with a broken rusty or buff collar ; its primaries arebarred with whue ; the under parts are buff or pale fawn color,almost white on the throat ; the breast and sides have large ob-long brown spots, and the tail has three or four grayish whitebars and a white tip. As the bird is far from shy, it is not diffi-cult to get a glimpse at the plumage while it perches on a lowbranch waiting for its prey to heave in sight. American Sparrow Hawk (Falco sparverius) Called also: RUSTY CROWNED FALCON; AMERICANKESTREL; MOUSE HAWK; KILLY HAWK Length—lo to 11 inches. Sexes the same size. Male—log of head slaty blue, generally with a reddish spot oncrown, and several black patches on sides and nape; backrufous, with a few black spots or none; wing coverts ashyblue with or without black spots; tail bright rufous, white 339
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AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK. Kites, Hawks, Eagles, etc. tipped, and with a broad black band below it, the outerfeathers white with black bars; under parts white or buff,sometimes spotted with black. Female—Back, wing coverts, and tail rufous with numerous blackbars; under parts plentifully streaked with dark brown. Range—Eastern North America, from Great Slave Lake to north-ern South America. Nests from northern limits of range toFlorida; winters from New Jersey southward. Season—Summer resident in the northern United States andCanada; March to October; winter or permanent residentsouth of New Jersey. Perched on a high dead limb, the crossbar of a telegraphpole, a fence post, or some distended branch—such a point ofvantage as a shrike would choose for similar reasons—the beauti-ful little sparrow hawk eagerly scans the field below for grass-hoppers, mice, hair sparrows, and other small quarry to comewithin range. The instant its prey is sighted, it launches itselfinto the air, hov

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