THE NEW SPORT OF "HAWKING" 



273 



By May tenth it is the height of the nesting-season for the 

 Cooper's Hawk. This species is preeminently the most 

 destructive of the raptorial tribe in the United States, though 



NEST AND EGGS OF COOPER'S HAWK IN CROTCH OF CHESTNUT 



if the Goshawk were more common it would deserve the 

 palm. It pounces upon every living thing it meets that is 

 not too large for it. Ordinarily wary enough, its dash and 

 boldness in pursuit of prey are amazing. Not long ago a 

 gentleman called to me as I passed along the village street, 

 asking me to come to his hen-house and see a hawk that was 

 after his chickens. It was a Cooper's Hawk, as I had antici- 



