FALCONID^E — THE FALCONS. 201 



to eat. I\Ir. Aiulubou reccivfid another, taken forty miles west of C'luuieston 

 by Mr. Francis Lee. Tiiis n^'ntlenian, as <[Uoteil by Audubon, mentioned its 

 sailing very beautifully, and i[uito liigh in the air, over a wet meadow, in 

 pursuit of .snipe. it would puise' itself in the manner of the common 

 Sparrow Hawk, and, suddenly closing its wings, plunge towards its prey 

 with great \'elocity, making a peculiar sound with its wings as it passed 

 througli the air. Its cries on being wounded resembled those of the Mis- 

 sissippi Kite. It was so shy that j\Ir. Lee was only able to approacli it on 

 horseliack. 



Audubon states that JNIr. Ward, his assistant, found this species breeding 

 on the Santee Iiiver early in the month of March. Their nests were said to 

 be placed on low trees near the margin of the river, and to be not unlike 

 those of the common Crow, but without the substantial lining of its nests. 

 Mr. Ward also mentioned seeing them flying over the cane-brakes, in pur- 

 suit of large insects, in the manner of the Mississippi Kite, and finding 

 the birds very shy. 



In Southern Illinois it has been known to occur as far north as Jlount 

 Carmel, where Mr. Eidgway saw a pair in July, flying about among the dead 

 trees bordering a lagoon near the Wabash River. 



Mr. Audubon, in his visit to Texas, saw several of these birds flying at a 

 small elevation over the large marshes, and coursing in .search of its prey in 

 the manner of the common JIarsh Harrier. 



Dr. Heermann found the extensive marshes of Suisuu, Napa, and Sacra- 

 mento Valleys the favorite resorts of these birds, especially during the win- 

 ter, and there they seemed to find a plentiful supply of insects and mice. 

 They ranged over their feeding-grounds in small flocks from a single pair \vp 

 to six or seven. He fell iu with an isolated couple in the mountains be- 

 tween Elizabeth Lake and Williamson's Pass, hovering over a small fresh- 

 water marsh. In July and August the young were quite abundant, from 

 which Dr. Heermann inferred that it does ncjt migrate for the purposes of 

 incubation. Dr. Gambel, who procured liis specimens at the Mission of St. 

 John, near Monterey, describes it as flying low and circling over the plains 

 in the manner of a Circus, and as feeding on the small liirds. It -was easy 

 of api)roach when perched on trees, and uttered a loud shrill cry \\-heu 

 wounded, and fought viciously. 



Lieutenant Gilliss, who found them in Chile, describes the nest as com- 

 posed of small sticks, and states that the number of the eggs is from four 

 to six, and that they are of a dirty yellowish-white with brownish spots. 

 The common name of this Hawk in Chile is Bailarin (from the verb hailar, 

 to dance or balance), from the graceful and easy manner in which it seems 

 almost to float upward or to sink in the air. 



An egg of this species, in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural 

 History, measures 1.64 inches in length by 1.48 in breadth. In shape it is 

 very nearly spherical, and equally obtuse at either end. The ground-color, 



VOL. m. 26 



