266 WILD WINGS 



It is well known that each pair of raptorial birds preempts 

 its own private hunting-preserve, from which it tries to 

 exclude all others that might create troublesome competition. 

 But there are curious exceptions. Smaller hawks of other 

 genera are frequently allowed to nest near by, though not 

 very close. Now and then smaller species of the same genus 

 are, apparently, not deemed dangerous enough rivals to be 

 driv^en ofi. I have known Broad-wings to nest in the same 

 woodland tract with each of the two larger species. Never, 

 though, have I found two pairs of the same species — save 

 the social Ospreys — nesting near together. Perhaps marital 

 jealousy has something to do with this. In some instances 

 I hjive known two pairs of the Red-shoulder to nest not far 

 apart on opposite sides of a road. Probably neither of them 

 crossed the road into the other's territorv. 



It is worth noting that hawks and owls of the same size 

 often share the same haunts, both for nesting and for hunt- 

 ing. Interesting, too, is the fact that the Red-shouldered 

 Hawk seems to fraternize with the Barred (^wl, while the 

 Great Horned Owl and the Red-tail arc in the same way 

 associated. 



I must confess to a feeling of partiality for the Red-shoul- 

 dered Hawk, probably because I have for years lived on 

 intimate terms with the species. In Middleboro and sur- 

 rounding towns there were ten pairs that I used to look up 

 from year to year, and a number of others with which I had 

 casual acquaintance. As time went on I discovered that most 

 of these hawk families had a distinct individuality. 



My prime favorites were the " Dean Woods" pair, noisy, 

 not so shy as some, building a large new nest each year near 

 the old one, forty-five feet or so up some white pine. They 

 always had four large eggs, distinctive! v blotched, so that 

 I could have told them from the eggs of any other pair. The 



