Part 18

Doves eat a great deal of weed seed. They have no destructive habits whatever, and are worthy of all possible protection. They appear to be on the increase as a result of shortening the shooting season in the South, where they are popular as game-birds.

TURKEY VULTURE Cathartes aura septentrionalis Wied

Other Names.—Buzzard; Turkey Buzzard.

Description.—Smaller than a Turkey; head and upper neck virtually bare; ruff of feathers about lower neck; wings long as in most birds of prey, but feet without the sharp, curved claws of the hawk tribe; plumage blackish brown, glossed with purplish when fresh, rusty and soiled in appearance when old; under surface of flight-feathers lighter, showing in flight; skin of neck and head reddish, with whitish tubercles and ridges, and some hairs and small feathers; bill whitish; feet dull flesh-color; eyes brown. Downy young, white in color with pale blue-gray feet and head. Length: About 30 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A regular and fairly common summer resident in the southern half of the Commonwealth and locally in western Pennsylvania, at least as far north as Crawford County, where it nests in limited numbers at Pymatuning Swamp. It arrives in mid-March and stays until November, or later. In the southernmost counties, and occasionally elsewhere in its range, it remains throughout the winter.

Nest.—No nest is built. Eggs: 2, whitish, blotched irregularly with black, brown, and gray, placed on the ground in a cavity among rocks or in a hollow log.

At close range the Turkey Vulture is not a beautiful creature—its carriage is slovenly, its facial expression unpleasant, and its plumage harsh; but circling in the sky, its wide wings hardly moving for hours at a time, it becomes a glorified being, among the most graceful and well-balanced of our soaring birds.

It is equipped by Nature as a carrion-eater, the bare head and neck permitting it to eat the flesh of dead animals without soiling its feathers. Its feet are not used in capturing or carrying prey, but a considerable burden may be carried in the bill. When Vultures find a dead cow or horse, word seems to travel immediately to all nearby districts and the great birds swing silently in to the feast. They are frequently seen along roadsides where they devour rabbits and other small mammals which have been killed by motor cars.

It is said that the Turkey Vulture carries the germs of hog cholera and the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease. This is only occasionally, if ever, true, however, and, as a rule, it is a harmless and highly beneficial bird. Nevertheless, it is not protected in Pennsylvania at the present time.

Young Vultures cannot stand when newly hatched.

MARSH HAWK Circus cyaneus hudsonius (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Swamp Hawk; Marsh Harrier; Pigeon Hawk (erroneous); Chicken Hawk; Hen Harrier.

Description.—Face with an owl-like ruff of feathers; wings and tail long; feet long and slender. Adult male: Upperparts light ashy gray, somewhat darker on top of head, and slightly streaked on neck; tips of wings black; tail barred with black; upper tail-coverts white; lower parts white, grayer on throat and upper breast, and flecked with pale reddish brown on sides and flanks; eyes bright yellow. Adult female: Plumage rich brown, considerably mottled throughout, sometimes heavily streaked with blackish below, and feathers sometimes considerably margined with buffy; upper tail-coverts always white; eyes yellow. Immature birds are usually plain brown, unstreaked below, and have brown eyes. The feet are always yellow. Length: About 20 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common though somewhat local migrant and summer resident from March 15 to November 1. Less often seen in the mountainous counties and occasionally noted in winter. Its summer range depends more or less upon swampy country in which the nest is characteristically built.

Nest.—On the ground in a swamp, composed of dead weed-stalks, cat-tail leaves, and similar materials, sometimes with neat cup and lining, at other times loosely constructed with little attempt at neatness. Eggs: 4 to 7, pale blue or chalky white, occasionally faintly spotted with brown.

The Marsh Hawk is usually to be seen flying near the ground over a field or low meadow. Beating its way along rapidly, it pauses at times to watch the grass where prey may hide, sometimes wheeling suddenly toward the ground as it captures a mouse or shrew. It may always be recognized by the white upper tail-coverts which show plainly in flight, a mark which our other hawks do not have.

Occasionally the Marsh Hawk circles high in air where the white patch on the back is not visible. At such times the long and somewhat pointed wings, black wing-tips, long tail, and white appearance of the male and the dull brown appearance of the female will distinguish the species.

The male has the interesting custom of looping the loop during its season of courtship. At the nest the birds are very fierce in defending their young and swoop about the intruder, uttering loud, piercing, Flicker-like cries.

Its food consists of mice, frogs, snakes, and other creatures which are captured among the cat-tails or on the ground. Occasionally it takes a bird or visits the poultry-yard, but, as a rule, it is a beneficial species. It is not protected in Pennsylvania.

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK Accipiter velox (Wilson)

Other Names.—Bird Hawk; Blue Darter; Chicken Hawk; Pigeon Hawk (erroneous).

Description.—Small for a Hawk, being but little larger than a Robin; wings comparatively short and rounded; tail long and square at tip: female considerably larger than male. Adults: Top of head and neck blackish, base of feathers of nape white; cheeks and malar region whitish streaked with reddish brown; throat white, finely streaked with black; upperparts blue-gray, the tail marked with three or four blackish bands; underparts white, heavily barred with reddish brown save on middle of belly and under tail-coverts. Immature birds: Brown, not gray, plumage of the upperparts edged with rusty brown and underparts streaked, not barred, with dark brown. The eyes of adults are usually red; of immatures, yellow. The feet, which are long and slender, are always yellow. Length: Male, 12 inches; female, 13½ inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A migrant and summer resident throughout from March 1 to November 25; occasionally to be seen in winter.

Nest.—A rather large, flat platform made of slender twigs, built near the trunk on a hemlock bough, or in other sheltered situation, usually 30 to 40 feet from the ground. Eggs: 4 to 6, pale greenish white, handsomely and irregularly blotched with rich brown.

The Sharp-shin is the enemy of all small birds. It is swift in flight and skulks along among the bushes, pouncing upon its victims suddenly. Near the nest of a pair of these birds located at McDonald Water Works, Washington County, there were no small birds—they had probably all been killed or driven out by the Sharp-shins.

Another very small member of this family, the Sparrow Hawk, is a bird of the open fields, with long, pointed wings and red-brown back. The Sharp-shin sometimes circles rapidly in the open but does not hover over its prey as does the Sparrow Hawk.

Young Sharp-shins, which are downy white, are fed upon small birds which are neatly plucked by the parent.

COOPER’S HAWK Accipiter cooperi (Bonaparte)