THE NEW SPORT OF "HAWKING" 289 



trees in timber-belts or isolated patches, but it is also partial 

 to ground-building on the slopes of rocky knolls of the prairie 

 from the central parts of North Dakota westward. In either 

 case, when the nest is approached, the owners hover and 

 scream with considerable boldness and vigor. The eggs are 

 laid early in the season, about the first of May, — the laying- 

 time here also of the Red-tail, — and are from three to five in 

 number, usually handsomely marked specimens. 



On the Memorial Day just spoken of, I saw an interesting 

 nest. It was in an oak back from a lake, about forty feet from 

 the ground. From far out on the prairie I could see the 

 head of the female sticking up over the edge. Away she 

 went, spreading her white tail, as we drew near, and mani- 

 festing her displeasure as long as we remained. Part of the 

 time she flew back and forth just over the tree-tops with 

 angry screams, and then she would rise in the air and soar 

 with her mate. There were five young, picturesque indeed, 

 as were their fine white-tailed parents and the beautiful sur- 

 roundings. 



I was also privileged to see one other raptorial bird in 

 Dakota that I had never seen before. Though I had occa- 

 sionally seen the Bald Eagle in the East, circling, or perched 

 on some tree, usually near lake or river, the majestic Golden 

 Eagle was a stranger to me. One day I was shown a splen- 

 did specimen alive that had been caught in a trap, and not 

 long after that, early in June, as we were jogging along over 

 the wild prairie, uninhabited by man, away up near the Mani- 

 toba boundary, I saw an enormous bird sitting on the ground. 

 We drove toward it, and got near enough for a good view 

 with our glasses before it flew. Spreading its great wings, it 

 majestically flapped into the air. After a little upward flight, 

 it extended its wings to their full length, and without another 

 eftort, simply soared in circles, up and up, until it actually 



