J 58 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



times hovering in the manner of the common Sparrow Hawk (Tinnuncultis 

 sparcfi7-ius). It appears to be resident throughout a huge jiart of Mexico, 

 and in Central and Soutli America. The other is from tlie l!io Pecos of 

 Texas, collected by Dr. W. W. ,\^ndersou. 



^Ir. Darwin, in his Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle, mentions obtain- 

 ing one specimen in a small valley on the plains of Patagonia, at Port 

 Desire, in latitude 47° 44' south. M. D'Orbigny supposed latitude 34° to be 

 the extreme southern limit of the species. Lieutenant Gilliss brought speci- 

 mens from Chile. 



Mr. Darwin states that tlie F. fcvioralis nests in low bu.shes, this corre- 

 sponding with tlie observations of ilr. Bishop. He found the female sit- 

 ting on her eggs in the beginning of January. According to M. D'Orbigny, 

 it prefers a dr}', open country with scattered bushes, which ^Ir. Darwin con- 

 firms. ~Mv. Bishop informs me tliat he met with this Hawk in the greatest 

 abundance upon those vast plains of Soutli America known as tlie Pampas, 

 in which no trees except tlie ombii are found, and that it there nests exclu- 

 sively on the tops of low bushes, hardly more than a foot or two from the 

 ground. The bird was not at all sliy, like most Hawks, but was easily 

 approached so nearly as to be readily recognized. 



]\Ir. Bridges states, in the Proceedings of the London Zoological Society 

 (1843, p. 109), that the H. fcmoralis is trained in some parts of South Amer- 

 ica for the pur.suit of smaller gallinaceous birds, and that it is highly- 

 esteemed by the Chilian falconers. It veiy soon becomes quite docile, and 

 will even follow its master within a few weeks of its capture. 



I am indebted to Mr. N. H. Bishop for specimens of the eggs of this 

 Hawk obtained by him on the Pampas. The nes contained liut two, and 

 was built on tlie top of a low bush or stunted tree, hardly two feet from the 

 ground. It was constructed, with some ]iains and elaboration, of witliered 

 grasses and dry leaves. 



The eggs measure, one 1.81 inches in length by 1.60 in breadth, tlie other 

 1.78 by 1.63. This does not materially vary from tlie measurement given 

 by Darwin. The ground-color of the egg is white. This, however, is so 

 thickly and so generally studded with fine brown markings, that the white 

 ground to the eye has a rusty appearance, and its real hue is hardly distin- 

 guishable. Over the entire surface of the egg is distributed an infinite 

 number of fine dottings, of a color most nearly approaching a raw terra- 

 sienna brown. Over this again are larger blotches, lines, and splashes of a 

 handsome .shade of vandyke-brown. In one egg these larger markings are 

 much more frequent than in the otlier. The latter is chiefly marked with 

 the finer rusty dottings, and has a more dingy appearance. 



