FOREST BIRDS 143 



Both species, however, without regard to sex, may- 

 be told from the Red-tail and Red-shoulder by their 

 smaller, more slender bodies, shorter wings and 

 longer tails. Note how in the other Hawks the 

 folded wings reach nearly to the tip of the tail, 

 while in the Darter and Sharp-shin they do not ex- 

 tend more than half of its length. 



Neither cry of pursuit nor scream of victory is 

 uttered by these winged huntsmen. Perhaps, indeed, 

 we might better call them marketmen, for they hunt 

 to supply themselves and their families with food and 

 not for the mere pleasure of chase. 



Their insignificant cackling calls are therefore 

 usually heard only when one approaches their nest. 

 Evidently forgetting then their power of wing and 

 foot, they make no attempt to defend their young 

 other than a weakly uttered protest. 



Both build nests of sticks and twigs in trees in the 

 woods, and lay from three to six eggs early in May. 

 Those of the Sharp-shin are bluish-white, spotted or 

 blotched with brownish, while the Darter's are 

 bluish-white, generally unmarked. 



