first quill two-twelfths shorter than the second, which is longest,
but scarcely exceeds the third, the fourth longer than the first;
secondaries slightly emarginate. Tail rather long, nearly even.
Bill with the upper mandible dusky, the lower white. Iris hazel. Feet
and claws wood-brown. Head, cheeks, and a small portion of the throat
black; the upper parts brownish-black; the feathers on the lower part
of the hind neck all round, a streak over each eye, another along the
middle of the hind head, the greater part of the rump, and the lower
parts generally, yellowish-red or brownish-orange; the edges of some of
the feathers on the back, a broad band formed by the first row of small
coverts, a narrow band formed by the tips of the secondary coverts, a
band on the base of the primaries, the outer web of the first excepted,
the margins of three of the primaries toward the end, and a spot on
the outer web of most of the secondaries at the end; a large patch on
the inner web of all the tail-feathers, excepting the two middle, and
largest on the outer, pure white; the middle of the breast and abdomen,
with the axillaries and lower wing-coverts, yellow.
Length to end of tail 8-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 4-1/4; tail
3-8/12; bill along the ridge 9/12, along the edge of lower mandible
10/12; tarsus 11/12; hind toe (4-1/2)/12, its claw 5/12; middle toe
8/12, its claw (3-1/2)/12.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXIII. Fig. 4.
The female is much less beautiful. The bill is of a lighter brown
above, brownish-white beneath, with the edges and tip of the lower
mandible light brown; the feet and claws wood-brown. The upper parts
are wood-brown, the head darker, with three longitudinal bands of
brownish-white; a band of reddish-white across the hind neck, the
feathers of the back margined with whitish; the wings marked as in the
male, but with brownish-white; the tail without white spots. The lower
parts are of a much paler tint than those of the male; the axillars and
lower wing-coverts yellow.
Length to end of tail 8-1/4 inches; bill along the ridge 9/12; tarsus
11/12; middle toe and claw 1-3/12.
SHARP-SHINNED OR SLATE-COLOURED HAWK.
_FALCO FUSCUS_, GMEL.
PLATE CCCLXXIV. MALE AND FEMALE.
There is a pleasure which that ornithologist only can feel who spends
his days in searching for the materials best adapted for his purpose,
and which arises from the contemplation of the objects he is anxious
to portray and describe, as they roam in freedom over Nature’s
wild domains. Another pleasure is derived from finding in different
countries birds so much alike in form, colour, and habits, that they
seem as if formed for the purpose of exercising our faculties of
observation and comparison. But this pleasure passes into pain, or at
least perplexity, when, as in the present instance, two species differ
so slightly that you cannot clearly define their characters, although
they yet seem to be distinct. In fact, I long felt uncertain whether
the American bird described by WILSON under the names of Sharp-shinned
Hawk, and Slate-coloured Hawk, was distinct from the Sparrow Hawk, _F.
Nisus_, of Europe.
It is mentioned in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, that a specimen of
this bird was killed in the vicinity of Moose Factory, and that it has
been deposited by the Hudson’s Bay Company in the Zoological Museum
of London. This specimen I have not seen, but confiding entirely in
the accuracy of every fact mentioned by the authors of that work, I
here adduce it as a proof of the extraordinary range of this species
in America, which from the extreme north extends to our most southern
limits, perhaps far beyond them, during its autumnal and winter
migrations. I have met with it in every State or Territory of the Union
that I have visited. In the spring of 1837, it was abundant in Texas,
where it appeared to be travelling eastward. I have a specimen procured
by Dr TOWNSEND in the neighbourhood of the Columbia River; and, when
on my way towards Labrador, I met with it plentifully as far as the
southern shores of the Gulf of St Lawrence, beyond which, however, none
were observed by me or any of my party.
I never saw this daring little marauder on wing without saying or
thinking “There goes the miniature of the Goshawk!” Indeed, reader,
the shortness of the wings of the Sharp-shinned Hawk, its long tail,
though almost perfectly even, instead of being rounded as in the
Goshawk, added to its irregular, swift, vigorous, varied, and yet often
undecided manner of flight, greatly protracted however on occasion,
have generally impressed upon me the idea alluded to. While in search
of prey, the Sharp-shinned Hawk passes over the country, now at a
moderate height, now close over the land, in so swift a manner that,
although your eye has marked it, you feel surprised that the very next
moment it has dashed off and is far away. In fact it is usually seen
when least expected, and almost always but for a few moments, unless
when it has procured some prey, and is engaged in feeding upon it. The
kind of vacillation or wavering with which it moves through the air
appears perfectly adapted to its wants, for it undoubtedly enables
this little warrior to watch and to see at a single quick glance of
its keen eyes every object, whether to the right or to the left, as it
pursues its course. It advances by sudden dashes, as if impetuosity
of movement was essential to its nature, and pounces upon or strikes
such objects as best suit its appetite; but so very suddenly that it
appears quite hopeless for any of them to try to escape. Many have been
the times, reader, when watching this vigilant, active, and industrious
bird, I have seen it plunge headlong among the briary patches of one
of our old fields, in defiance of all thorny obstacles, and, passing
through, emerge on the other side, bearing off with exultation in its
sharp claws a Sparrow or Finch, which it had surprised when at rest. At
other times I have seen two or three of these Hawks, acting in concert,
fly at a Golden-winged Woodpecker while alighted against the bark of
a tree, where it thought itself secure, but was suddenly clutched by
one of the Hawks throwing as it were its long legs forward with the
quickness of thought, protruding its sharp talons, and thrusting them
into the back of the devoted bird, while it was endeavouring to elude
the harassing attacks of another, by hopping and twisting round the
tree. Then down to the ground assailants and assailed would fall, the
Woodpecker still offering great resistance, until a second Hawk would
also seize upon it, and with claws deeply thrust into its vitals, put
an end to its life; when both the marauders would at once commence
their repast.
On several such occasions, I have felt much pleasure in rescuing
different species of birds from the grasp of the little tyrant, as
whenever it seizes one too heavy to be carried off, it drops to the
ground with it, and being close by, I have forced it to desist from
committing further mischief, as it fears man quite as much as its poor
quarry dreads itself. One of these occurrences, which happened in the
neighbourhood of Charleston, in South Carolina, is thus related in my
journal.
Whilst walking one delightful evening in autumn, along a fine hedge-row
formed by the luxuriant Rocky Mountain rose-bushes, I observed a male
of this species alighted in an upright position on the top-bar of a
fence opposite to me. I marked it with particular attention, to see
what might follow. The Hawk saw me as plainly as I did him, and kept
peeping now at me, and now at some part of the hedge opposite, when
suddenly, and with the swiftness of an arrow, it shot past me, entered
the briars, and the next instant was moving off with a Brown Thrush,
_Turdus rufus_ in its talons. The Thrush, though seized by the sharp
claws of the marauder, seemed too heavy for him to carry far, and I saw
both falling to the ground. On running up, I observed the anxiety of
the Hawk as I approached, and twice saw it attempt to rise on wing to
carry off its prize; but it was unable to do so, and before it could
disengage itself I was able to secure both. The Thrush must have been
killed almost instantaneously, for, on examining it, I found it quite
dead.
My friend THOMAS NUTTALL, Esq., tells us that in the “thinly settled
parts of the States of Georgia and Alabama, this Hawk seems to abound,
and proves extremely destructive to young chickens, a single one
having been known regularly to come every day until he had carried
away between twenty and thirty. At noon-day, while I was conversing
with a planter, one of these Hawks came down, and without ceremony, or
heeding the loud cries of the housewife, who most reluctantly witnessed
the robbery, snatched away a chicken before us.” Again, while speaking
of the wild and violent manner of this bird, he adds “descending
furiously and blindly upon its quarry, a young Hawk of this species
broke through the glass of the green-house, at the Cambridge Botanic
Garden; and fearlessly passing through a second glass partition, he was
only brought up by the third, and caught, though little stunned by the
effort. His wing-feathers were much torn by the glass, and his flight
in this way so impeded as to allow of his being approached.”
Whilst travelling to some distance, the Sharp-shinned Hawk flies high,
though in a desultory manner, with irregular quick flappings of the
wings, and at times, as if to pause for a while and examine the objects
below, moves in short and unequal circles, after which it is seen to
descend rapidly, and then follow its course at the height of only a few
feet from the ground, visiting as it were every clump of low bushes or
briar patches likely to be supplied with the smaller birds, on which
it principally feeds. Again, after having satisfied its hunger, this
little warrior, at times rises to a great height, and indeed now and
then is scarcely discernible from the ground.
I found a nest of this Hawk in a hole of the well-known “Rock-in-cave”
on the Ohio River, in the early part of the spring of 1819. It was
simply constructed, having been formed of a few sticks and some grasses
carelessly interwoven, and placed about two feet from the entrance of
the hole. I had the good fortune to secure the female bird, while she
was sitting on her eggs, which were nearly hatched, and it was from
that individual that I made the figure in the plate. The eggs, four
in number, were almost equally rounded at both ends, though somewhat
elongated, and their ground colour was white, with a livid tinge,
scarcely discernible however amid the numerous markings and blotches of
reddish-chocolate with which they were irregularly covered. The second
opportunity which I had of seeing a nest of this species occurred not
far from Louisville in Kentucky, when I accidentally observed one of
these hawks dive into the hollow prong of a broken branch of a sycamore
overhanging the waters of the Ohio. Here the eggs were five in number,
and deposited on the mouldering fragments of the decayed wood. The
third and last opportunity happened when I was on my way from Henderson
to St Genevieve on horseback. I saw a pair of these birds forming a
nest in the forks of a low oak, in a grove in the centre of the prairie
which I was then crossing. The young in the nest I have never seen.
This interesting species usually resorts to the fissures of rocks for
the purpose of there passing the hours of repose, and generally in
places by no means easy of access, such as precipitous declivities
overhanging some turbulent stream. It is often not until the darkness
has so much gained on the daylight as to render objects difficult to
be distinguished, that it betakes itself to its place of rest, and
then I have only been assured of its arrival by the few cries which
it utters on such occasions. The earliness of its departure has often
much puzzled me, for with all my anxiety to witness it, I have never
succeeded in doing so, although on two or three occasions I have
watched the spot more than half an hour before dawn, and remained
patiently waiting until long after the sun had risen, when I clambered
to the hole, and always found it empty.
The food of this Hawk consists chiefly of birds of various sizes, from
the smallest of our warblers to the Passenger Pigeon or young chickens,
the latter appearing to afford a special temptation to it, as has been
above related. I am also aware that it feeds occasionally on small
reptiles and insects, and I shot the male represented in the plate, on
wing, whilst it held in its claws the small Shrew also represented. It
is extremely expert at seizing some of our smaller snakes and lizards,
and not unfrequently snatches up a frog while basking in the sun.
The difference of size observed between the males and females, as
well as between individuals of the same sex, is very remarkable; and
no doubt it was on account of this very great disparity that WILSON
described specimens of both sexes as two distinct species. Its notes
are short, shrill, and repeated in a hurried manner, when the bird is
wounded and brought to the ground. It often emits cries of this kind
while falling, but suddenly becomes silent when it comes to the earth,
and then makes off swiftly, with long and light leaps, keeping silent
until approached. Although a small bird, it possesses considerable
muscular power, and its extremely sharp claws are apt to inflict severe
pain, should a person lay hold of it incautiously.
FALCO FUSCUS, and DUBIUS, _Gmel._ and _Lath._
SLATE-COLOURED HAWK, FALCO PENNSYLVANICUS, _Wils._ Amer.
Ornith. vol. vi. p. 13, pl. 46, fig. 1. Adult Male.
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, FALCO VELOX, _Wils._ Amer. Ornith. vol.
vi. p. 116, pl. 45, fig. 1. Young Female.
FALCO VELOX, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Synopsis of Birds of United
States, p. 29.
FALCO FUSCUS, _Ch. Bonaparte_, Ibid. Append. p. 433.
ACCIPITER PENNSYLVANICUS, SLATE-COLOURED HAWK, _Richards. and
Swains._ Fauna Bor.-Amer. vol. ii. p. 44.
AMERICAN BROWN or SLATE-COLOURED HAWK, _Nuttall_, Manual,
vol. ii. p. 87.
Adult Male. Plate CCCLXXIV. Fig. 1.
Bill short, with the dorsal line of the upper mandible curved from the
base, so as to form nearly the fourth of a circle, the sides sloping
rapidly and convex toward the end, the edges sharp anteriorly, with
a broad tooth-like process or prominent festoon about the middle, the
tip very acute and decurvate; the cere rather short, its margin forming
a convex curve before the nostrils, which are oblique, oblongo-ovate,
broader behind; the lower mandible with the angle broad and short, the
dorsal line convex, the back broad at the base, the sides convex, the
edges inflected, the tip obliquely truncate, rounded, with a very faint
sinus behind.
Head of moderate size, broad, rather flattened above; neck very short;
body very slender, remarkably attenuated behind. Legs long and very
slender; tarsus rather long, extremely slender, compressed, anteriorly
covered with fifteen scutella disposed in a longitudinal plate, of
which the inner sharp edge projects considerably, whence the name
of “Sharp-shinned” given to this species, the sides with hexagonal
scales, the hind part with numerous scutella. Toes slender, the third
and fourth connected at the base by a web, extending beyond the second
joint of the latter, and curving forward as far as that of the former;
first and second toes strongest and about equal; third extremely
elongated, fourth very slender; tuberculate and papillate beneath,
there being a long fleshy tubercle on the last joint of each toe,
and one on the next joint of the two outer. Claws very long, arched,
gradually attenuated to a fine point.
Plumage full, soft, blended, somewhat distinct on the upper parts.
Wings of moderate length, reaching beyond the middle of the tail;
the fourth quill longest, the fifth scarcely shorter, the third
intermediate between the fifth and seventh, the second a little longer
than the seventh, the first generally shorter than the outer secondary;
the first five quills cut out on the outer, the first four more deeply
on the inner edge. The tail is long, even, of twelve rather broad,
rounded feathers.
The bill is light blue at the base, bluish-black at the end; the cere
and eyelids yellowish-green; the iris bright reddish-orange; the tarsi
and toes yellow; the claws black, pale bluish at the base. The general
colour of the plumage on the upper parts is deep greyish-blue, or dark
slate-blue, the shafts darker; the feathers on the occiput are white at
the base, that colour appearing more or less as they are raised; and
on each of the scapulars are two large white patches, which, however,
are not seen until the feathers are raised. The outer primaries are
tinged with brown; all the quills are marked on the inner web with
dusky bands, between which the inner margins are white toward the base.
The tail has four broad bands of blackish-brown, and is tipped with
greyish-white. The cheeks are yellowish-red, and the forehead is tinged
with the same colour. The throat is reddish-white; the lower parts are
transversely and rather broadly barred with light red and white, there
being from three to five bars or double spots of the latter colour on
each feather, those on the sides with the inner web entirely red; part
of abdomen and lower tail-coverts white; feathers of the legs barred
like the breast; lower wing-coverts yellowish-white, barred and spotted
with dusky.
Length to end of tail 11-1/4 inches; to end of wings 8-3/4; to end of
claws 11-1/4; extent of wings 20-1/2; wing from flexure 6-10/12; tail
5-10/12; bill along the ridge 8/12, along the edge of lower mandible
8/12; tarsus 1-11/12; hind toe (5-3/4)/12, its claw, 6/12; middle toe
1-2/12, its claw (4-1/2)/12. Weight 3-1/2 oz.
Adult Female. Plate CCCLXXIV. Fig. 2.
The female, which greatly exceeds the male in size is generally
greyish-brown tinged with blue on the upper parts, in very old
individuals bluish-grey or dark bluish-grey, more or less tinged with
brown. The bill, cere, iris, feet, and claws are as in the male, and
the markings on the plumage are similar on the upper parts; the lower
are generally of a lighter tint, but otherwise nearly the same.
Length to end of tail 14 inches; extent of wings 26; wing from flexure
8-2/12; tail 6-8/12; bill along the ridge 10/12; tarsus 2-1/12; hind
toe (7-1/2)/12, its claw (7-1/2)/12; middle toe 1-11/12, its claw 6/12.
Weight of an individual 7-1/2 oz., of another 8-1/4.
Young birds of either sex, when fully fledged, have the upper parts
generally hair-brown, on the back darker; the feathers on the head
and hind neck margined with light red; those of the rest of the upper
parts also terminally edged with brownish-red; the feathers of the
hind head and neck are white at the base, but to less extent, and the
scapulars are also spotted with the same. The lower parts are white or
yellowish-white, the throat longitudinally streaked, the rest banded
with dark brown, the feathers of the sides spotted, those of the legs
light reddish, obscurely marked with darker along the middle; the lower
tail-coverts white. The female has the markings on the lower parts much
narrower at this age.
[Illustration]
A male bird preserved in spirits presents the following characters:—The
roof of the mouth is flat, with two longitudinal ridges; the posterior
aperture of the nares oblong, with a linear anterior slit, papillate
on the edges. The tongue is 5 twelfths long, narrow, concave above,
slightly emarginate. The œsophagus, _a b c d e_, is 3 inches 3
twelfths long; its diameter at the upper part 5 twelfths; it enlarges
on the neck to a capacious crop, _c d_, 1 inch in diameter. The
proventriculus, _e_, has a complete belt of small oblong glandules.
The stomach, _f g_, is large, roundish, membranous, without distinct
muscles, 1 inch 3 twelfths long, and 1 inch broad. The intestine, _g
h i l_, is 14-3/4 inches long, its greatest diameter 2 twelfths. The
rectum, _j l_, is 1 inch 9 twelfths long; its diameter at the anterior
part 3 twelfths; the cœca, _j_, are exceedingly small, forming two
scarcely observable sacs, about half a twelfth in depth. The trachea
is 2-1/12 inches long, its rings unossified, 78 in number; the bronchi
long and slender, of about 18 half rings. The contents of the crop and
stomach were portions of two small birds.
On comparing several specimens, male and female, of this Sharp-shinned
Hawk, with others of the European Sparrow Hawk, the proportions
are found to be similar, as are the colours of the upper parts; but
the American birds, especially the males, are much smaller; and the
transverse bands on the lower parts of the Sharp-shinned Hawk are
redder and broader than those of the Sparrow Hawk. The number of dark
bands on the tail is the same in both, namely four on the middle
feathers, and six on the lateral. The tail is not always precisely
even, being in both European and American birds often slightly rounded,
the lateral feather being sometimes a quarter of an inch shorter than
the longest.
A species most intimately allied to the Sharp-shinned Hawk presents
the same form and colours, but differs somewhat in its proportions,
and is much larger. The bill is much higher at the base, its upper
outline slopes from the commencement, and the festoon on its edge is
less prominent. The tarsi and toes are proportionally stronger, the
edge on the former not nearly so prominent. The first quill is a little
longer than the first secondary, the fifth quill (not the fourth) is
longest; and the tail is rounded, the lateral feather in a female being
eight-twelfths of an inch shorter than the longest. The dimensions
of a female of this species, shot by myself in South Carolina, are as
follows:—
Length to end of tail 16-1/2 inches; wing from flexure 10; tail
7-10/12; bill along the ridge 1; tarsus 2-7/12; hind toe 10/12, its
claw 1; middle toe 1-8/12, its claw (7-1/2)/12.
It is very probable that this is the _Accipiter Mexicanus_ of Mr
SWAINSON, whose brief account of a female of that species, in the
Fauna Boreali-Americana, agrees sufficiently with it. There are,
however, some errors in his critical observations, at p. 44. Thus, he
states that WILSON’s figure of the Slate-coloured Hawk, _Accipiter
Pennsylvanicus_, is perfectly characteristic, in having the tail
quite even at the end; but that TEMMINCK’s _Autour a bec sinueux_
is doubtful, the tail being represented as distinctly rounded. Now,
in fact, the tail of our Sharp-shinned Hawk is when perfect a little
rounded, but often when worn quite even or square. Both the figures
in Plate CCCLXXIV represent it as a little rounded, and such it is in
five specimens out of eight, four of these being females, and one a
male; while the three specimens in which the tail may be said to be
quite even are males. Again, he states that “the anterior scales on
the tarsus of _A. Pennsylvanicus_ are entire, being apparently formed
externally of one entire piece; whereas in _Mexicanus_, the transverse
divisions are distinctly visible.” The latter part of the sentence
is certainly correct, in so far as may be judged from a single very
fine specimen; but the scales are equally distinct in all the younger
individuals of the _A. Pennsylvanicus_, although in one, an old male,
the distinctions between the greater number are obliterated, so that
they resemble a single plate. There is nothing very remarkable in this,
however, for the like happens to other Hawks; it having been long ago
remarked with regard to the Sparrow Hawk of Europe, _Accipiter Nisus_,
that “in some individuals, the anterior oblique scutella, as well as
the hexagonal scales of the sides, are so indistinct, that all traces
of them disappear when the parts become dry.”
_Accipiter Nisus_, _A. velox_, and _A. Mexicanus_, which are most
closely allied, insomuch that it is extremely difficult to distinguish
them from each other, may be characterized as follows:—
_A. Mexicanus_ is largest; has the fifth quill longest, the first
primary much longer than the last, the tail distinctly rounded,
the tarsi stouter, and with fifteen scales; the upper parts deep
slate-blue; the lower banded with light red and white.