. Birds of Washington and vicinity . th brown. The wings arebrown barred with dusky, and the tail is narrowly barred withdusky. Common in winter, rare in summer. The handsome Sparrow Hawk is the smallest of hisfamily, being about the size of a Robin. His hookedbill and high shoulders proclaim him a Hawk, and thegray forehead and distinct black markings on the sideof the head identify him. He is supposed to eat smallbirds, hence his name, but rarely have any been foundin the great number of stomachs examined at theBiological Survey, except in winter, and then onlywhen other food could not be ob
. Birds of Washington and vicinity . th brown. The wings arebrown barred with dusky, and the tail is narrowly barred withdusky. Common in winter, rare in summer. The handsome Sparrow Hawk is the smallest of hisfamily, being about the size of a Robin. His hookedbill and high shoulders proclaim him a Hawk, and thegray forehead and distinct black markings on the sideof the head identify him. He is supposed to eat smallbirds, hence his name, but rarely have any been foundin the great number of stomachs examined at theBiological Survey, except in winter, and then onlywhen other food could not be obtained. He is a greatdestroyer of meadow-mice and injurious insects,especially grasshoppers and crickets, so he should beprotected. The nest, unlike that of other Hawks, is in a holein a tree, either in a natural cavity or an old Wood-peckers hole. SPARROW HA WK H5 The eggs, 5 to 7, are finely and evenly Hawks are more common here in winterthan in summer. They have been suspected of nest-ing in the Smithsonian SPARROW HAWK (Falco sparvehius). 10 146 FISH HAWK Marsh Hawk; Harrier: Circus Imdsonius. Length 19 inches. Male, general color ashy-gray; under parts white, finelymarked with rusty; rump white in both sexes, shown con-spicuously in flight. Female, general color rusty brown. July to April. Common. The Marsh Hawk will be seen beating low overmarshes or meadows in search of mice and is not known to breed in this vicinity, but is socommon the greater part of the year that it is thoughtbest to distinguish it as a good Hawk. Doctor Fisherwrites: Its presence and increase should be en-couraged in every way possible, not only by protect-ing it by law. but by disseminating a knowledge of thebenefits it confers. It is probably the most active anddetermined foe of meadow mice and ground squirrels,destroying greater numbers of these pests than anyother species, and this fact alone should entitle it toprotection, even if it destroyed no other injurio
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
