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American Sparrow Hawk
Adult Male--Upper parts chestnut red or rufous; lower part of back barred; head bluish; a black patch beneath eye, and another back of ear; tail rufous, with a broad black bar and tipped with white; under parts buff and pinkish buff shading to white and spotted with black on the sides.
Adult Female--Upper parts duller rufous barred black; under parts dull buffy white, streaked with black spots. Length--10.00.
Breeding Range--Throughout the Eastern States.
The eggs are laid in a hole in a tree, often a woodpecker's hole being used; there is no lining. The colour of the eggs varies greatly, the ground colour being white, buff, or pinkish buff, marked with irregular spots and blotches of dark or light chestnut, brown, or chocolate, sometimes entirely concealing the ground colour at the larger end. Size--1.35 x 1.15. See Fig. 3, Plate A.
While the Sparrow Hawk may be said to nest almost exclusively in the hollow of a tree, there have been instances of variation from this rule, eggs having been found "in crevices in rocks, in holes in banks, along rivers, or nooks about buildings" (Davie).
The breeding season begins about the middle of April. Incubation occupies about three weeks.