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, Male
Pigeon Hawk
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.