Var. _atricapillus_.
National Museum, 8; Philadelphia Academy, 7; New York Museum, 3; Boston
Society, 2; G. N. Lawrence, 4; W. S. Brewer, 2; Museum, Cambridge, 2; R.
Ridgway, 2. Total, 30.
_Measurements._
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
|Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.|
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♂ |12.25–13.00|10.00–10.50| .80–.85|2.90–3.05| 1.70–1.80| 5 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♀ |14.00–14.25|11.50–12.75| .90–1.00|2.90–3.15| 1.80–1.95| 7 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
Var. _striatulus_.
National Museum, 9; R. Ridgway, 1; Museum, Cambridge, 1
(Massachusetts!). Total, 11.
_Measurements._
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
|Sex.| Wing. | Tail. | Culmen. | Tarsus. |Middle Toe.|Specimens.|
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♂ |12.00–13.25| 9.50–10.00| .85–.90|2.70–3.00| 1.70–1.80| 8 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
| ♀ |13.50–13.60|11.80–12.20| .90–1.00|3.00–3.15| 1.85–0.00| 2 |
+----+-----------+-----------+---------+---------+-----------+----------+
[Illustration: _Astur atricapillus._]
HABITS. The dreaded Blue Hen Hawk, as our Goshawk is usually called in
New England, is a bird of somewhat irregular occurrence south of the
44th parallel. It occurs in the vicinity of Boston from November to
March, but is never very common. In other parts of the State it is at
times not uncommon at this season. It is common throughout Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, and Northern Maine, and may undoubtedly be found breeding
in the northern portions of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. In the
summer of 1872, Mr. George Baxter, of Danville, Vt., procured a nest
containing three young birds, which were sent to the New York Central
Park. Mr. Downes speaks of it as “far too common” in the vicinity of
Halifax, where it is very destructive to Ducks, Pigeons, and poultry.
Mr. Boardman gives it as common near Calais, where it breeds, and where
he has taken its eggs. Mr. Verrill mentions it as resident in Western
Maine, where it is one of the most common Hawks. Mr. Allen found it
usually rare near Springfield, but remarkably common during the winter
of 1859–60. He afterwards mentions that since then, and for the last ten
winters, he has known them to be quite common during several seasons.
Mr. C. J. Maynard is confident that this species occasionally breed
in Massachusetts. He once observed a pair at a locality in Weston,
until the latter part of May. It was found breeding in Iowa by Mr.
S. N. Marston. Mr. Victor Brooke records in the Ibis, 1870, p. 538, the
occurrence, in Ireland, of an example of this species. It was shot in
the Galtee Mountains, in February, 1870. The bird was a mature female,
with the ovary somewhat enlarged. The stomach contained the remains of a
rabbit.
On the Pacific coast it is comparatively rare in California, though much
more abundant farther north, in Oregon and in Washington Territory.
Dr. Cooper noticed several in the dense spruce forests of Washington
Territory, and regarded it as a special frequenter of dark woods, where
other Hawks are rarely seen. Dr. Suckley also obtained several specimens
of this bird both at Fort Dalles and at Fort Steilacoom.
Sir John Richardson met with this Hawk and procured several specimens in
the Arctic regions, and Captain Blakiston also met with it in the valley
of the Saskatchewan. He states that it ranges throughout the interior
from Hudson’s Bay to the Rocky Mountains and Mackenzie River. He found
it breeding on the Saskatchewan, and one of his specimens was shot on
its nest. The Goshawk was obtained at Sitka by Bischoff; and a pair was
taken by Mr. Dall, April 24, 1867, within a few miles of Nulato Fort,
on the Yukon River. The nest was on a large poplar, thirty feet above
the ground, and made of small sticks. No eggs had been laid, but several
nearly mature were found in the ovary of the female. The nest was on a
small island in a thick grove of poplars, a situation which this species
seemed to prefer. Mr. Dall adds that this was the most common Hawk in
the valley of the Yukon, where it feeds largely on the White Ptarmigan
(_Lagopus albus_), tearing off the skin and feathers, and eating only
the flesh. Mr. Dall received skins from the Kuskoquim River, where it
was said to be a resident species.
Dr. Suckley speaks of this Hawk as bold, swift, and strong, never
hesitating to sweep into a poultry-yard, catch up a chicken, and make
off with it almost in a breath. Its manner of seizing its prey was by a
horizontal approach for a short distance, elevated but a few feet from
the ground, a sudden downward sweep, and then, without stopping its
flight, making its way to a neighboring tree with the struggling victim
securely fastened in its talons. For strength, intrepidity, and fury,
Dr. Suckley adds, it cannot be surpassed. It seems to display great
cunning, seizing very opportune moments for its attacks. In one instance
it was several days before he was able to have one of these birds
killed, although men were constantly on the watch for it. So adroit
was it in seizing opportunities to make its attacks, that it regularly
visited the poultry-yard three times a day, and yet always contrived to
escape unmolested. He found these birds much more plentiful during some
months than at other times, and attributed it to their breeding in the
retired recesses of the mountains, remaining there until their young
were well able to fly, and then all descending to the open plains, where
they obtain a more abundant supply of food.
Mr. Audubon states that in Maine the Goshawk was said to prey upon
hares, the Canada and Ruffed Grouse, and upon Wild Ducks. They were so
daring as to come to the very door of the farm-house, and carry off
their prey with such rapidity as to baffle all endeavors to shoot them.
Mr. Audubon found this Hawk preying upon the Wild Ducks in Canoe Creek,
near Henderson, Ky., during a severe winter; as the banks were steep and
high, he had them at a disadvantage, and secured a large number of them.
They caught the Mallards with great ease, and, after killing them, tore
off the feathers with great deliberation and neatness, eating only the
flesh of the breast.
The flight of this bird he describes as both rapid and protracted,
sweeping along with such speed as to enable it to seize its prey with
only a slight deviation from its course, and making great use of its
long tail in regulating both the direction and the rapidity of its
course. It generally flies high, with a constant beat of the wings,
rarely moving in large circles in the manner of other Hawks. It is
described as a restless bird, vigilant and industrious, and seldom
alighting except to devour its prey. When perching, it keeps itself more
upright than most other Hawks.
Audubon narrates that he once observed one of these birds give chase
to a large flock of the Purple Grakles, then crossing the Ohio River.
The Hawk came upon them with the swiftness of an arrow; the Blackbirds,
in their fright, rushing together in a compact mass. On overtaking
them, it seized first one, and then another and another, giving each a
death-squeeze, and then dropping it into the water. In this manner it
procured five before the poor birds could reach the shelter of a wood;
and then, giving up the chase, swept over the waters, picking up the
fruits of its industry, and carrying each bird singly to the shore.
Mr. Audubon, who observed these Hawks in the Great Pine Forest of
Pennsylvania, and on the banks of the Niagara River, near the Falls,
describes a nest as placed on the branches of a tree, and near the
trunk. It was of great size, and resembled that of a Crow in the manner
of its construction, but was much flatter. It was made of withered twigs
and coarse grass, with a lining of fibrous strips of plants resembling
hemp. Another, found by Mr. Audubon in the month of April, contained
three eggs ready to be hatched. In another the number was four.
Mr. Dall states that the eggs are usually four in number, of a
greenish-white color, and were usually all laid by the first of
May. An egg of this bird, obtained by Mr. Dall at Nulato, April 27,
1858, measures 2.28 inches in length and 1.90 in breadth. It is of a
rounded-oval shape, and is of a uniform dead-white color, with hardly
a tinge of green. Another, obtained by Mr. Charles Pease near the
head-waters of the Unalakleet River, measures 2.32 by 1.80 inches, and
the ground-color is more distinctly greenish-white. A few small spots of
a bronze-brown are scattered in isolated marking irregularly over the
egg. Lieutenant Bendire writes that he has found the eggs of this Hawk
in Montana; that their number in a set is usually two, and an unspotted
white.