National Museum, 4; Boston Society, 2; Mus. Comp. Zoöl., 3; Philadelphia
Academy, 4; New York Museum, 2; G. N. Lawrence, 4. Total, 19.
_Measurements._
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
|Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.|
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♂ | 7.00–7.70| 4.86–5.50| .50–.00|1.30–1.50| .90–.00| 11 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♀ | 7.20–7.70| 5.00–5.30| .45–.50|1.35–1.40| .85–.00| 5 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
HABITS. The common Sparrow Hawk of America has an extended distribution
throughout the greater portion of North America, although it was not
observed by Mr. MacFarlane, nor by any other collectors in the higher
Arctic regions, nor was it met with by Mr. Dall in Alaska. Mr. Kennicott
found it nesting at Fort Resolution (lat. 62°), on Great Slave Lake, and
Mr. Clark at Fort Rae. These are the highest points to which we have any
knowledge of its having been traced.
[Illustration: _Tinnunculus sparverius._]
Sir John Richardson speaks of it as abundant on the banks of the
Saskatchewan, in the neighborhood of Carlton House. It probably breeds
throughout North America, from Hudson’s Bay to Mexico, and from Maine
to California, though it is rare in a large portion of the New England
States. It is, however, quite abundant in the vicinity of Calais,
Me., in New Brunswick, and in Nova Scotia, though less abundant about
Halifax. It has not been taken, or if so only very rarely, in Eastern
Massachusetts, though it has been known to breed in Williamstown and
Amherst, in the western part of the State. It is equally rare in Rhode
Island and in Connecticut. Dr. Woods, of East Hartford, knew of a pair
which entered a dove-cot in that place, destroyed its inmates, and
laid four eggs. They committed so many depredations on the neighbors’
chickens that they were shot.
Mr. Ridgway found this species exceedingly abundant in all portions of
the West. In the cañons of the East Humboldt Mountains it was observed
to have nests in holes on the faces of the limestone cliffs.
The Sparrow Hawk is a bird of irregular flight, now momentarily hovering
over a particular spot, suspending itself in the air, and then shooting
off in another direction. At other times it may be seen perched on
the top of a dead tree, or on a projecting branch, sitting there in
an almost perpendicular position for an hour or more at a time. It
frequently jerks its tail, and appears to be reconnoitring the ground
below for small birds, mice, or lizards, on which it chiefly preys. When
it alights, it closes its long wings so suddenly that, according to
Wilson, they seem to disappear. It often approaches the farm-house early
in the morning, skulking about the barnyard in pursuit of mice, and
occasionally of young chickens. Frequently it plunges into a thicket,
as if at random, but always with an object in view, and with a sure and
fatal aim.
Wilson once observed one of this species perched on the highest top of
a large poplar, and, just as he was about to take aim, it swept down
with the rapidity of an arrow into a thicket of briers, where he shot
it, and found a small Field Sparrow quivering in its grasp. It is said
to be fond of watching along hedge-rows and in orchards, where small
birds usually resort. When grasshoppers are plentiful, they form the
principal part of its food. The young are fed with the usual food of the
parents,—mice, small birds, grasshoppers, etc. It also feeds upon small
snakes, but rarely, if ever, touches anything that it has not itself
killed, and has been known to reject its prey when, after having been
killed, it proved to be in unsuitable condition for food.
Mr. Audubon states that the flight of this species is never protracted.
It seldom flies far at a time; a few hundred yards are all the distance
it usually goes before alighting. It rarely sails long on the wing at
a time; a half-hour is its utmost extent. In pursuing a bird, it flies
with great rapidity, but never with the speed of the Sharp-shinned and
other Hawks. Its cry is so similar to that of the Kestrel of Europe that
it might be readily mistaken for it but for its stronger intonation. At
times it gives out these notes as it perches, but they are principally
uttered while on the wing. Mr. Audubon has heard them imitate the
feeble cries of their offspring, when these have left the nest and are
following their parents.
The young birds, when they first appear, are covered with a white down.
They grow with great rapidity, and are soon able to leave their nest,
and are well provided for by their parents until they are able to take
care of themselves. They feed at first on grasshoppers and crickets.
At Denysville, Me., these Hawks were observed to attack the Cliff
Swallows, while sitting on their eggs, deliberately tearing open their
covered nests, and seizing their occupants for their prey.
In winter, these birds, for the most part, desert the Northern and
Middle States, but are resident south of Virginia. They can be readily
tamed, especially when reared from the nest. Mr Audubon raised a young
Hawk of this species, which continued to keep about the house, and
even to fly to it for shelter when attacked by some of its wilder
kindred, and never failed to return at night to roost on its favorite
window-shutter. It was finally killed by an enraged hen, whose chickens
it attempted to seize.
This Hawk constructs no nest, but makes use of hollow trees, the
deserted hole of a Woodpecker, or even an old Crow’s nest. Its eggs
are usually as many as five in number, and Mr. Audubon once even met
with seven in a single nest. The ground of the eggs is usually a dark
cream-color or a light buff. In their markings they vary considerably.
Five from a nest in Maryland were covered throughout the entire surface
with small blotches and dottings of a light brown, at times confluent,
and, except in a single instance, not more frequent at the larger end
than the smaller. The contents of a nest obtained by Mr. Audubon on the
Yellowstone River had a ground-color of a light buff, nearly unspotted,
except at the larger end, with only a few large blotches and splashes of
a deep chocolate. In others, interspersed with the light-brown markings
are a few of a much deeper shade. In some, the eggs are covered with
fine markings of buff, nearly uniform in size and color; and others
again are marked with lines and bolder dashes of brown, of a distinctly
reddish shade, over their entire surface, and often so thickly as nearly
to conceal the ground. The eggs are nearly spherical. The average length
is 1.38 inches by a breadth of 1.13. They are subject to variation in
size, but are uniform as to shape. They range in length from 1.48 to
1.32 inches, and in breadth from 1.08 to 1.20 inches.
The eggs of _Tinnunculus sparveroides_, from Cuba, and of var.
_cinnamominus_ from Chile, differ in size and markings from those of
North American birds. Their ground-color is much whiter, is freer
from markings which have hardly any tinge of rufous, but are more of
a yellowish-brown. The Cuban egg measures 1.28 by 1.08 inches; the
Chilian, 1.25 by 1.08.