Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/524

 508 PIGEON HAWK PIGWEED the world, of which the two most common European representatives have been described under HOBBY and MERLIN ; they prefer wooded cultivated districts, and usually follow in the American Pigeon Hawk (Hypotriorchis columbarius). train of the small migratory birds on which they prey; the flight is rapid and long sus- tained; the nest is made on trees or among rocks, and the eggs are from three to five. The American pigeon hawk, H. columbarius (Gray) or F. (cesalori) lithofalco (Gmel.), is 12 to 14 in. long and 26 in. in alar extent; the male is smaller than this. The adult bird has been described by Audubon as the little cor- poral hawk {F. temerarius) ; its general color is bluish slate, every feather with a longitu- dinal black line ; forehead and throat white ; below pale yellowish or reddish white, each feather with a longitudinal line of brownish black; the tibiae are light ferruginous, with black lines ; quills black, with ashy white tips ; tail light bluish ash, tipped with white, with a wide subterminal black band and several nar- rower bands of the same ; cere and legs yel- low, and bill bluish ; the younger birds are dusky or blackish brown above, and the tail has four to six white bands ; the variations in plumage, according to age and locality, are considerable. It is found over all temperate North America, Central America, and the northern part of South America ; it breeds in the north. It is the boldest hawk of its size, pouncing on thrushes, wild pigeons, wood- peckers, snipe, and even teals, but preying chiefly on birds of the size of the red-winged blackbird and sora rail; it has been known to attack cage birds in the porches of houses in crowded cities. According to Dr. Brewer, the eggs measure about If by 1 in., and are nearly spherical; the color is not a very clear white, and there are a few bold irregular dashes of light yellowish brown, chiefly about the smaller end ; the nest is coarsely construct- ed, resembling that of a crow. PIGMENTS, coloring matters mixed by paint- ers with oil and other vehicles to form their paints. A variety of coloring matters can be used for pigments, differing greatly in durabil- ity or power to withstand chemical agents and the action of light and heat. As a rule pig- ments derived from the mineral kingdom are more durable than those which are organic. Pigments should be distinguished from the col- oring matters used by the dyer and the cal- ico printer ; although several are employed in these arts, they are then dyes, and are only strictly to be considered pigments when used by the painter. The most important pigments are described in the article PAINTS. PIGMY. See PYGMY. PIGNEROL. See PINEEOLO. PIGNUT. See HICKORY. PIGWEED, the popular name in this country for several species of chenopodium, especially G. album; in England the same plants are called goosefoot, a more appropriate name, be- ing a translation of the botanical name, which was given on account of the shape of the leaves (Gr. xfoi a goose, and TTOVS, foot). In England the term pigweed (also sowbane) is confined to one species, C. rubrum, which was supposed to be fatal to swine. The chenopo- diums or pigweeds are weedy-looking plants, sometimes covered with a mealy dust. They have alternate leaves and small, green, incon- spicuous flowers, crowded in little spikes in the axils of the leaves, or forming spiked panicles; the flowers are apetalous, and con- sist of a usually five-cleft calyx, five stamens, two styles (rarely three), with a one-celled ovary, which in ripening becomes a thin one- seeded utricle ; the embryo in the seed is coiled in a partial or complete ring around the mealy Pigweed (Chenopodium album). albumen. We have half a dozen species of chenopodium proper, all of which are proba- bly introduced from Europe, though some are found in situations where they appear as if