Part 21

DUCK HAWK Rhynchodon peregrinus anatum (Bonaparte)

Other Names.—Peregrine Falcon; Rock Hawk; Bullet Hawk; Blue Hawk; American Peregrine; Ledge Hawk.

Description.—Size medium; female much larger than male; wings long and pointed; plumage very firm and stiff. Adults: Top of head and patch below eyes and on rear part of cheeks, black; back, wings, and tail bluish slate, heavily barred with darker gray; tail tipped with white; underparts buffy, barred and spotted with black, chiefly on sides and flanks. Immature: Upperparts dark brown, the plumage considerably margined with buffy or pale brownish; area below eye black; cheeks brownish; underparts dark brown, all the feathers widely margined with buffy, giving a mottled and streaked appearance; cere and feet yellow; eyes very dark brown. Length: Male, 16 inches; female, 19 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A rare summer resident from March to November along cliff-lined rivers. It occasionally occurs in migration and has been known to winter in the Philadelphia region, where the solitary birds live upon pigeons, and roost on the ledges of tall buildings.

Nest.—None is made. Eggs: 3 to 6, whitish, heavily spotted with rusty or chocolate-brown, or solid brown, laid either on the bare rock in a sheltered niche on a high cliff, or in a slight depression in the earth on such a ledge, if there be any soil.

This is one of Pennsylvania’s rarest hawks. Along the Juniata River, and where there are cliffs along the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers, they are sometimes seen beating their way buoyantly, high in the air, or plunging down from the heights either in pursuit of prey or in play. Their call-note, a sharp and rapidly repeated kee, kee, kee, kee echoes among the rocks. Near their nest the birds are vicious toward intruders.

For speed and daring, the Duck Hawk is famous. It pursues and captures the most rapid ducks, even Teal. I have seen it kill Pileated Woodpeckers and Crows, but, as a rule, it captures Meadowlarks, Blue Jays, Robins, and shorebirds which happen to pass by its eyrie, or for which it watches from its high vantage-point. It is particularly fond of domestic pigeons if there be any in the vicinity, and will live almost exclusively upon them as long as the supply lasts. Striking its prey with closed fists, it slashes the skin open with the long claws of the hind toe.

Sometimes a Duck Hawk may be seen from the train window in the vicinity of Huntingdon, Spruce Creek, Palmerton, or Dauphin. The Duck Hawk is not protected in Pennsylvania.

PIGEON HAWK Tinnuculus columbarius columbarius (Linnæus)

Description.—Size small, a little larger than a Sparrow Hawk, but heavily built, and with plumage firm like that of the Duck Hawk. Adults: Blue-gray, narrowly streaked with black above, an inconspicuous band of buffy or pale reddish brown at neck, primaries barred with white; tail blackish with three or four distinct, though narrow, white or grayish bars, and a white tip; underparts buffy or rich ochraceous, streaked with black, save on throat. Immature: Dark brown above, the primaries and tail barred with buffy; underparts much as in adult birds; cere and feet yellow; eyes black. Length: About 10 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A rare migrant, additional records for which are very desirable. It usually occurs in late April and early May and in late September and early October. It is said to have nested in Pike County.

So many hawks are called Pigeon Hawk that it is difficult to make Pennsylvania farmers and gunners realize that this little hawk is really a comparatively rare bird. It flies rapidly, directly, and is, in general appearance, much like a Sparrow Hawk with a blue-gray back.

I have noted Pigeon Hawks in Pennsylvania only a few times. Each time the hawk was surrounded and besieged by a flock of swallows, one of which it may have been holding in its talons.

SPARROW HAWK Cerchneis sparveria sparveria (Linnæus)

Other Names.—Mouse Hawk; Killy Hawk; Pigeon Hawk (erroneous).

Description.—Size small, not much larger than a Robin; adults and young alike; wings pointed. Male: Top of head blue-gray, with rusty brown crown-patch; sides of head buffy or whitish, with black marks below eye, on ear-coverts, and on side of nape; back rich reddish brown, barred on scapulars, and sometimes on back, with black; wing-coverts blue-gray, spotted with black; primaries black, barred with white; tail rich rufous, tipped with white, and with a broad subterminal bar of black; underparts whitish or buffy, sometimes quite reddish, with spots or bars of black on sides and flanks; cere and feet yellow; eyes dark brown. Female quite different, having the back and tail heavily barred with black, the wing-coverts reddish brown barred with black, and the underparts streaked with pale reddish brown. Length: About 10 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—A common and widely distributed summer resident from March 10 to November 15. Occasional in winter.

Nest.—In a cavity in a tree or in a bird-box from 20 to 40 feet from the ground. Eggs: 4 to 8, buffy or whitish, heavily spotted with reddish brown.

The trim form of this elegant creature is a familiar roadside acquaintance, and the piercing killee, killee, killee of the bird, as it hovers looking for prey, is characteristic. The Sparrow Hawk is distinctly beneficial, feeding upon grasshoppers, field mice, and other small mammals. It is protected by law at all times in Pennsylvania.

OSPREY; FISH HAWK Pandion haliaëtus carolinensis (Gmelin)

Description.—Size large, wings long, giving the bird in flight somewhat the appearance of a gull; feet large, the outer toe reversible, the under side of the toes with spiny scales for holding slippery prey; upperparts blackish brown, the feathers margined with brownish; nape and superciliary white or whitish spotted with black; tail with from six to nine grayish bands, noticeable particularly on the inner web; underparts shining white, with spots of brown on breast, particularly in the female. The under wings are white save the greater coverts and flight feathers which are prominently barred; a black area at the bend of the wing; bill black; feet pale blue-gray; eyes orange-yellow. Length: 23 inches.

Range in Pennsylvania.—Common and regular, principally along the waterways, as a migrant in April and May and in September and October. Rare and local as a summer resident. Additional nesting records are desirable.

Nest.—A bulky mass of sticks and débris, usually placed in a dead tree, sometimes at the very top, from 20 to 50 feet from the ground. Eggs: 2 to 4, whitish, spotted with reddish brown, or solid rich brown. There is much variation in the color of the eggs.

The Osprey is usually seen near a lake or waterway. Its easy flight gives it somewhat the bearing of a gull, but its broad, barred tail and dark upperparts distinguish it even at a great distance.

The Osprey’s food is almost altogether fish. Its firm, glossy plumage, its great claws, its slender, long wings, are all adapted to the capture of fish, upon which it pounces from the air, plunging into the water, sometimes to be lost to view for a second or more. Occasionally it grips a fish so large that it cannot extricate its talons, and is dragged to an unfortunate death. When the Osprey rises from a plunge in the water it often halts in mid-air to shake itself free of water, a somewhat amusing performance.

Although the Osprey eats fish almost exclusively, it is protected in Pennsylvania. It sometimes captures the destructive carp which is such a pest in some localities. It does not often take trout or other valuable food or game-fish and never captures birds or game. Smaller birds, such as grackles, fear the Osprey so little that they have been known to build their own cradles among the foundation material of the Osprey’s bulky eyrie. Along the Atlantic Coast Ospreys sometimes nest on the ground.

BARN OWL Tyto alba pratincola (Bonaparte)

Other Names.—Monkey-faced Owl; Golden Owl.