FOOD HABITS OF MARSH HAWKS 
 
nesting season are available mainly from observational notes and from exam-

ination of the bony contents of Wisconsin pellets, 1930-'31. We may list

the following individuals of prey: Very young cottontail, 1; young Norway

rat (Rattus norvegicus), 1; meadow mouse, 18; short-tailed shrew, 1; savan-

nah sparrow, 1; garter snake, 1. 
On the whole, the diet of the marsh hawk during the colder months 
appears to run strongly to small mammals such as mice, with a varying pro-

portion of small birds from sparrow to blackbird sizes. Studies by Stoddard

('31, pp. 209-211) on marsh hawk wintering grounds in Georgia support this

conclusion, as do the general food habits data presented by Fisher ('93)
and 
McAtee ('35). 
The Adaptations of the Marsh Hawk for Securing Prey 
The marsh hawk is a raptor of rangy build and comparatively weak grasp. 
It rarely attacks mammals larger than third-grown cottontails, two-thirds

grown Franklin's ground squirrels, and adult striped ground squirrels; nor

birds larger than flickers, mourning doves, half-grown domestic chickens,

three fourths grown ring-necked pheasants, and adult Hungarian partridges.

The great preponderance of its prey is, indeed, of sizes much smaller than

these, although astonishingly large tender-fleshed immatures may now and

then be taken. 
There is, of course, much difference in prey sizes that individual hawks

are able to handle, since the females are decidedly larger and stronger.
Prey 
animals of the usual small sizes-mice, very young ground squirrels, Fringil-

lidae, etc.-are dispatched and eaten more or less easily, the heads often

being pulled off and swallowed soon after capture. Prey animals of larger

and intermediate sizes are held without difficulty, but the capturing hawk
may 
not have the strength to sink its talons deeply enough into the body of its

catch to kill it; in such cases, the hawk usually does a certain amount of

plucking, biting, and eating of flesh from neck and breast until the victim

finally dies. 
In flight, the marsh hawk is much too slow to overtake many birds on 
the wing, with the execption of heavy-flying juveniles or individuals handi-

capped as by injuries or weaknesses. It can drop swiftly, however, and is

agile in striking out in all directions with its long legs. Its characteristic
low 
gliding over fields and marshes permits it to surprise alert and quick-moving

animals which it could not otherwise expect to capture. It is at a disad-

vantage flying through trees and is seldom seen doing so; it may, nevertheless,

quarter over low woodlands, as well as it does over weedy or brushy grounds,

ready to wheel and dive into openings after some mammal or fledgling that

may be tardy about getting into suitable cover. 
Temperamentally, marsh hawks are quite variable, but it seems safe to 
state that the species shows considerable adaptability, though here again
we 
may not be sure how much behavior may be due to inheritance and how much

to experience. That at least some marsh hawks are well able to learn from