23 June 2012

Sparrow Hawk Dies Upon Hitting Glass


Brevities.

—On Friday morning the following singular incident occurred: T.F. Hudson's canary bird usually sets on the counter, in his store, just opposite the show window. A sparrow hawk, starting from one of the oak trees in the Plaza, which faces the store, made a plunge for the bird and brought up with such force against the plate-glass that it fell dead upon the sidewalk, its skull crushed and eyes protruding from their sockets. This was an enterprising forager; one leg had been shot away and part of the remaining claw, still the bird was in good condition. The plate-glass window was the mistake of its life. — Santa Rosa Democrat.

This news item is significant as it is the first known window-strike for the West Coast.

January 18, 1875. Daily Alta California 27(9056): 1.