_Astur atricapillus_
The adult is blue-gray above with a darker crown
and a white line over the eye. The underparts are
finely and beautifully marked with gray and white.
Young birds resemble the young of Cooper's Hawk,
but are much larger. L., male, 22; female, 24.
_Range._ North America, nests chiefly north of the
United States and winters southward, usually
rarely, as far as Virginia.
Washington, casual in winter. Ossining, rare W.V.,
Oct. 10-Jan. 14. Cambridge, irregular and uncommon
W.V. SE. Minn., W.R., Nov. 5-Apl. 4.
Like its smaller relatives the Sharp-shin and Cooper's Hawks, this
powerful raptor is a relentless hunter of birds. It is particularly
destructive to Ruffed Grouse. Fortunately it does not often visit us in
numbers. It nests in trees, laying 2-5 white eggs, rarely marked with
brownish, in April.