This hawk is a large edition of the last species. All hawks vary in size, this one and the last, perhaps, more than any others. Female hawks are always the largest. A large female of the [Sharp-shinned variety], is often as large as a small male Cooper, but the crown of the Cooper is darker than that of the Sharp-shinned, and his tail is always rounded, while that of the last species is nearly square at the end. This is also a destructive species; it is usually one of these two hawks, or the [Goshawk], that is responsible for the ill-feeling with which farmers regard all of the family. All small hawks are known to farmers as “Chicken Hawks,” and large ones as “Hen Hawks,” but the majority of our hawks rarely disturb fowls.
Nest.—Of sticks in crotches of trees, usually quite high up; often old crows’ nests are used; eggs bluish-white, unmarked or very faintly specked with brown. (1.90 × 1.45); April.
Range.—Breeds from the Gulf north to southern Canada; winters from Mass. and Oregon southward.
AMERICAN GOSHAWK
334. Astur atricapillus. 23 in.
Adults, above bluish-slate, darkest on the crown; a whitish line over the eye; below white, finely waved with gray. Young, brownish-black, with lighter edgings to the feathers; below whitish, streaked with blackish-brown. Young birds can easily be distinguished from those of any other species by their large size and the long tail. This handsome species is one of the most rapacious and destructive of our birds of prey. Their short wings and long tail enable them to glide among the thickest foliage with great speed, and even the Ruffled Grouse cannot escape them. In the north where they live in summer, they destroy great numbers of Ptarmigan and Spruce Grouse, and come to us in the winter with their appetite whetted for a diet of poultry and our game birds, being exceedingly bold in their capture.
Nest.—Of sticks lined with weeds and bark, in tall trees; eggs white, unmarked.
Range.—Breeds throughout Canada; winters in the northern half of the United States.
